


A Demon

by Icephoinex



Series: A Game [1]
Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alvin/Leia if you squint, Blood and Violence, Elle is there when I remember her, Fantastic Racism, Hurt, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2020-01-31 19:52:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18598273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icephoinex/pseuds/Icephoinex
Summary: What if Ludger decided against taking an eight year old demon hunting? Canon divergence from Monster in the Alleyway





	1. Chapter 1

The informant had made Jude nervous for three reasons.

One: he was a lot younger than her but she insisted on flirting with him anyway.

Two: yes his name was known but his face wasn't in too many circles.

Three: the mention of the Braht.

They were bad news, a government of some kind that wasn't talked about. He had heard of them in passing but had never found any solid information about who they were or what they actually did. Even "Jolyne" was hesitant to mention what they did and he got the feeling that no information or money would get it out of her, As she said, she liked living. Leia couldn't even completely say where she had met this informant. Jude had a bad feeling, after the previous year he had learnt to trust those feelings. He turned to Ludger "I don't think Elle should come demon hunting, the back streets of Duval aren't safe and I don't like the sounds of these Braht agents one bit." He spoke quietly; Elle and Leia would kick up a fuss if they thought they were being protected.

Ludger nodded slowly "Where though?"

Jude thought for a second. "We could get them to ask around the shopping area and we can say we will ask at the bar? I'll persuade Leia she needs witness's for her report. Persuade Elle to keep her company so she can see how a reporter works."

Ludger nodded again with Jude's plan, the boy didn't waste words did he? "Leia" Jude called. "You should probably ask around for a bit more information. I would rather have an idea of what we are walking into. You can do an investigative report then."

Leia's eyes sparkled. "That sounds like a good idea, I can't mention Jolyne in the article but I can use what she told me to ask questions. That's a great idea Jude." Jude almost felt bad for deceiving her.

"If Ludger and I head to the bar then you and Elle can ask around the shopping street. Show her how a reporter works" Leia raised an eyebrow at him and Jude knew she had gone from pleased to suspicious. He widened his eyes slightly and glanced down at Elle who was currently talking to Rollo, oblivious to the conversation around her before grinning cheekily.

Leia sighed. No doubt she wanted to go with him but she wasn't willing to put Elle in danger either, she wasn't like Elize and could defend herself.

"Come on Elle, we're gonna ask around the town and see if anyone can tell us anything about this demon. I can show you how a reporter works" Leia struck a pose as she spoke and Elle looked up at her in admiration.

"Yeah" she replied with enthusiasm "I can be a reporter. Bet I can do a better job than you can" with a cheeky grin at Leia's pout.

Elle giggled and ran into the shopping district with a disgruntled "Hey!" Leia followed followed by Rollo.

Jude and Ludger gave a cheery wave and called "I'll give you a call on your GHS if we find anything." He got a wave from Leia as she disappeared into the crowd after Elle. Jude sighed and turned to Ludger "Well let's see what we can find out then."

They left the busy street and entered the perpetual shadows of Duvals back streets. "A demon of the alleyways, stalking Braht members" Jude mused. "Have you ever heard of Braht Ludger?"

Ludger shook his head silently. "Not left Trigleph before." he supplied. Jude sighed, Ludger was a good person he was sure, but did he need to be so silent? It made him hard to connect with sometimes.

They stuck together as they made their way through the alleys, Jude had been to Duval when visiting Alvin a couple of times but normally stayed around the shopping area and the station. There weren't many Reize Maxia supporters to be found in some of Elympios' poorer areas. Down one dead end they found someone offering to double their money if they invested 1 million gald, as they refused and walked away they heard another local mutter that the Braht wouldn't tolerate people like that. So the Braht were some kind of city guard maybe? Or more likely a gang that decided who could do what in their town. Why were they supplying spirit fossils and boosters to Exodus? Maybe they weren't Rieze Maxian friendly either.

Braht motives aside, they were being attacked by this "Demon" supposedly. A regular guy who hides monstrous power. It was all rather vague and Jude wasn't sure if the news they had given to "Jolyne" was equal to the limited information they got in return. Information she was happy to give as soon as she knew who he was.

Jude sighed. His mind was running in circles, he wasn't even sure what was putting him on edge, a sideways glance at Ludger gave nothing away as to the young-man's thoughts. Jude forced himself to relax as they continued their walk through town.

As a way to relieve tension he tried to engage in small talk with Ludger "What reason would Exodus have for gathering spyrite materials?"

As Ludger began to shrug as his answer a voice interrupted "What's that chief? Did someone say 'spyrites?'". Jude looked around and saw a rather heavyset man in a yellow top. Jude relaxed his muscles, if he needed to defend himself he would be able to move in an instant. "If you fine folks have got the gald to spend, then I've got the goods." the man continued.

Jude was shocked and his stance faltered slightly "You mean to say you're peddling spirit fossils?"

"You bet. Only lesser spirit class ones, though" the man continued his sales pitch. Ludger looked a little confused, he probably didn't know what spirit fossils classifications were. Jude only found out about a year ago in his search for one for Milla. It made sense that an Elympion wouldn't know. Jude could fill him in on the science behind it later.

"Speaking of that, have you heard anything about people gathering spirit fossils recently?" Jude asked cautiously. It wouldn't hurt to dig a little. It looked like "Jolyne" was right about someone supplying spirit fossils if nothing else.

The salesman smirked, "Don't beat around the bush. You mean Exodus right?"

Before Jude could even snap his guard up he felt the gun resting against his shoulder blades. "Don't move Dr. Mathis. We're taking you into custody, unless you try something foolish." An agents voice came from behind him.

Crap

That's all that was running through Jude's mind. He saw Ludger in a fighting stance but he hadn't been foolish to draw his weapons. That would most likely get both of them killed. "In broad daylight?" he asked slightly cockily.

"Doesn't matter" came the confident reply from the salesman as four more men surrounded the pair. It was now six to two. They had nowhere to run.

"Braht agents" Jude surmised. Exodus didn't have the numbers or the power to pull this off in the middle of a town.

Ludger looked lost and Jude didn't blame him. They were way out of their depth, at least the girls hadn't come with them.

"What do you want with Jude?" Ludger demanded. Jude gave him credit for trying to take back control of the situation.

"You want to know. Fine." the salesman stalked up to Jude and stood in front of him. Jude hated that he had to look up at the man. "He made peace with Rieze Maxia. He's an otherworld sympathiser!" He emphasised his disgust with a blow to the face. Unable to defend himself Jude fell to the floor hard. He received a boot to the stomach while he was down as the man sneered "Your little spyrite tricks aren't gonna save you now, pal!" Jude curled up in pain, both from his face and now his stomach from the kick. He could taste blood, had his teeth cut his mouth when he was hit?

"Jude!" Ludger called out concerned.

"I bet he's a Rieze Maxian" one agent offered. "Lets kill him off just to be thorough."

Jude looked up and saw an agent pointing a gun at Ludger while the another agent pointed one at Jude. "No!" Jude shouted. Blood spitting from his mouth as he raised his voice. "He's got nothing to do with this. He's an Elympion." Fear and adrenaline rushed through him. Why were they involving Ludger in this? Jude would never forgive himself if Ludger got hurt because of him.

The first agent laughed and sighted down his gun at Ludger and Jude panicked. They wouldn't believe him and he doubted they would hesitate if they thought Ludger really was from Reize Maxia.

"No! I'll go with you quietly. Just don't kill him." Jude was begging now, he sounded pathetic even to himself. But... he wouldn't get Ludger killed just for being with him. The agent with the gun grinned, but the salesman put a hand on his arm.

"Enough, we have what we want." he crouched down in front of Jude. "You won't resist or ask for help?"

"I won't" Jude offered solemnly.

"Why?" The first agent spat. "We could just drag this scum with us, bet he wont fight back if we blow his friend's brains out."

The salesman rose to his feet and signalled two other agents to drag Jude to his feet, holding him between them as they removed his gauntlets and threw them into a dark corner of the street. Jude's head swam a little; that was some punch to the head. "This boy was part of the group that broke the schism, and killed Gilandor Yul Svent. We give him no reason to fight and the others no reason to come looking for us. Everyone is happy." The salesman grinned at this and Jude wondered whose hands he had just put himself in. He knew too much about Jude, was he part of Exodus?

Jude didn't dare look at Ludger while he bartered himself away. He was ashamed, it was true he had done all those things the year before. But that was with a Lillium Orb fully powered by his experiences, that had broken. He had the Allium orb but hadn't had the time or the need to level it up very much. He had experimented with different types of linking but that wouldn't be much help here. He also had his martial arts from training with Master Sonia but was nowhere near the level he was at the end of the battle with Gaius the year before.

The agent scoffed and lowered his weapon, keeping it in his hand. "Come on then, the boss will be waiting."

Jude shrugged free from the agents holding him and went to Ludger "I'm sorry I got you caught up in this."

Ludger shrugged "Don't worry" he acted nonchalant but Jude could see the worry in his eyes. Jude tried to act calm but he was concerned himself, what could the Braht agents possibly want with him, was it part of their deal with Exodus? He was definitely on less than friendly terms with them.

The agents surrounded them while trying to make it look casual and herded them through smaller alleyways leading into the darker back streets of Duval. After walking for a few minutes the guard thinned slightly, the bit they had reached forced them to walk single file. There were four agents in front of them leaving two behind.

Jude saw his chance, he forced a link on Ludger and turned to smash one of the agents in the face with his bare fist. Without his gauntlets to protect his knuckles the skin split from the force. Jude ignored it and moved on to attack the next one, leaving Ludger to stand at the mouth of the backstreet with his hammer drawn stopping the other agents from running back to assist. The second agent blocked the first punch but was unprepared for the roundhouse kick to the side of the head which knocked him unconscious. It had been the agent who had been determined to shoot Ludger earlier so Jude felt a small amount of satisfaction at knocking him out.

"Ludger" Jude called, "time to run". He didn't want to fight them if he didn't have to. Ludger's agreement thrummed through the link and he turned and followed Jude back the way they came. They just needed to reach the shopping area, then Leia could back them up if the agents dared to attack in a populated area. Jude saw two people hanging around further up the street but didn't want to take the chance that they weren't agents and sprinted down a small side road for a short way before crouching to watch for any pursuit while he and Ludger got their breath back. He absent-mindedly brushed the back of hand across his mouth and was shocked by how much blood there was. He must look a mess. His abdomen were protesting from him running after being hit but he ignored it, he dared not use Healer in case the green light gave them away and he didn't have any gels on him. Damn he had gotten so complacent while concentrating on his research. He was a fool to forget he had enemies.

He heard footsteps and shrank against the wall again, carefully he watched the remaining three agents and the salesman run down the road they had just left. The two people at the end turned to greet them and the group paused to talk to them. Jude had been right, there were agents covering the main streets, so how to get out? Jude's train of thought was broken by a GHS ringing.

His GHS.

Jude swore under his breath and six pairs of eyes turned to stare at his hiding place, Jude ducked out of sight but the damage was done. A shout followed him.

"Run" Jude hissed at Ludger even as he pulled out his GHS to see who had such bad timing.

It was Leia. Jude listened to her talking even as he ran onwards, trusting Ludger to find a way out of the maze of back streets while avoiding pursuit. He didn't have the breath to tell her what was going on, just half listened as she spoke of who she had interviewed, what they had said, Rollo running off and finding Rowen and Gaius. Jude would have hung up if he thought she wouldn't just ring him back.

Wait did she say Rowen and Gaius?

"Leia" he panted.

"Jude? Jude what's going on? Are you running from someone? Is Ludger with you? Do you need help?" The questions battered past him, a glance behind showed they were gaining on him. He couldn't run for much longer, his chest was burning and the blood from his mouth had started running down his throat was making it hard to drag air in.

"Trap" he managed to saw as he drew in breath to speak. A glance behind again showed that they would catch up in the next few minutes. Ludger was going strong and the gap between then was widening with every stride. "Help Ludger." Ludger sensed Jude's decision through the link that was still between them, he hesitated slightly but Jude slammed him with his determination as he threw him his GHS with the call to Leia still running. "They want me alive, remember."

Jude stopped running to face the approaching group of agents, they had gained some people during their chase and now numbered around ten strong. "Run, find Leia " he commanded Ludger before limiting the link. It wasn't severed completely but now they only had a dim awareness of each other. No need for him to know was was happening but he still wanted to be found. He heard Ludger's retreating footsteps behind him and he readied his stance for the approaching group. They looked murderous. Jude dodged the first bullet, and a second before his breath shot out of him. He had been hit by a Spyrix weapon, his body remembered the feeling of the electricity running through him, paralysing his nerves. As the shock wore off from one he was hit by another and fell to his knees as his skin burned. There was quiet as the second one wore off, leaving a tingling feeling in his fingers. Against his better judgement but knowing he had to Jude attempted to stand and face his attackers. Another kick to the stomach threw him onto his back. Huh, he thought he had blocked that, his body wasn't responding properly. He opened his eyes to see a gun in his face he looked past it to see the salesman staring at him with anger in his eyes.

"We had an agreement Dr Mathis. You promised to come quietly. Now we will have to hunt your friend down and kill him in front of you to prove a point."

"I get why you guys hate me so much. But you don't need to involve others in it. It was nothing to do with him." Jude tried to reason calmly but his heart had gone cold at the salesman's threat. He received another blow to his face for his efforts. Jude's head lolled to the side and he could feel blood from his nose running down his face in a small stream, joining the flow dripping from his parted lips.

"You will be silent now Dr Mathis. We will let the boss decide what to do with you." He was dragged to his feet again and Jude staggered as his head spun. He felt his arms roughly grabbed and held behind him and someone used their belt to secure his arms. Didn't look like they were taking any chances with him now. "Try to run again and we will put a bullet in your knee and drag you. I'd like to see you heal the damage from that."

Head hanging in defeat Jude staggered back the way he had come fully surrounded by the ten agents. He could only hope Ludger got away safely.


	2. Chapter 2

Ludger hated to leave Jude like that, through the link he had felt the steadily increasing pain from the younger man but was surprised by how much force Jude could put into his command to leave him. The nervous energy had flooded through the link with it. With one last glance at Jude's bloodstained face as he turned his back to face the oncoming agents Ludger carried on his run through the alleyways, trying to find a landmark that would show he was near the shopping district. He held Jude's GHS to his ear long enough to hear Leia's panicked voice before holding it at his side so he could focus on running. If he concentrated he could feel the slight link Jude had left, telling him where he was. He could also feel Jude's pain in his head and stomach. He used it as a guide to avoid circling back on himself and into the Braht agents' arms. As he ran he passed the alleyway where they had been ambushed, he scooped up Jude's gauntlets from the gutter, hung them on his belt as he had seen Jude do and continued on his way. After what seemed like hours he passed the bar he had met Rideaux in, he knew where he was now. Legs screaming Ludger slowed down and started to catch his breath. He held Jude's GHS to his ear and was surprised to hear Leia was still talking, sending off a stream of demands, curses and threats aimed at Jude for not answering her.

"...Hello" he interjected hesitantly.

"What the hell Jude? Where are you? You better tell me what is going on or I will beat the crap out of you..." and so it continued. Ludger sighed, he wasn't going to get a word in edgeways. He was better off just finding her on the street. Forcing his aching legs forward he headed towards the shopping street. He was lucky he had been training to be an agent until recently, it gave him the stamina to run for so long but no doubt his body will punish him for it when the adrenaline wore off.

Blinking at the brightness Ludger emerged onto the main shopping street. It was strange the difference in light levels between the back alleys and the main street. He could hear shouting coming from near the job vendor. He hung up Jude's GHS and heard the shouting turn into a long high pitched screech. That must be Leia. Jude's GHS rang again but Ludger ignored it and ran over to where he had heard her shouting.

Leia looked furious when Ludger finally saw her and he was almost tempted to run back and challenge the Braht agents again, it might be safer. He persevered when he saw Elle's scared face though. There were two tall men standing near Leia looking at her in concern, one was an old gentleman in a blue robe with long silver hair tied back. The other was a giant of a man with shoulder length black hair, a long black and red coat and a commanding presence. He saw Elle's face light up when she saw him before she looked away pretending she didn't care. He didn't mind, he had worried her and she was right to be annoyed at him.

Leia rounded on him as soon as he got near. "Where the hell is Jude? He just says 'Trap' and 'Help Ludger' down the GHS then goes silent. Who does that? You better tell me where he is hiding Ludger and I will teach him a lesson he won't forget." Now he was closer he could see just how scared she was for him. He hated that he was going to have to give her bad news.

Silently Ludger handed Jude's GHS over to her, as it left his hand he could see there was a sheen of blood over both his hand and the GHS itself. Confused Ludger turned his hand over but there were no cuts or scrapes. The blood must be Jude's. Leia seemed to realise this at the same time as him as she went white as a sheet as she took the GHS from Ludger's hand and she went silent.

"Hello, you must be Ludger. My name is Rowen, I am a friend of Leia and Jude's. Please could you tell us what happened." This came from the older looking gentleman. Ludger hesitated then began speaking, he was interrupted every now and again by Rowen asking about certain details, What weapons did they have? Did they all dress similar in some way? Did they have a leader? Could Ludger still feel his link to Jude?

Ludger hesitated before answering the last one. "It's strange," he started. "It's not a battle link, more subtle. I know what direction he is but there are none of the emotional or physical bonds that a full link has."

"I've not heard of a link being used that way" Rowen mused. "But Jude is a genius, it wouldn't surprise me if he had experimented on a links during his studies." Rowen paused. "Can you still feel if he is hurt?"

Ludger focused for a second, he could feel a burn across his stomach, face and hands before he felt Jude push him back. "Slightly, he is stopping me from feeling too much of it."

"Interesting" Rowen mused.

"This is hardly the time to marvel over Jude's knowledge of Allium orbs, Rowen. He has been taken and we must get him back. We have a debt to him." The big man interrupted, Ludger silently agreed. They were wasting time.

"You're right of course your highness. My apologies"

"Highness?" Elle interrupted. She had been silent for most of the exchange.

Leia smiled at her, trying to hide how scared she was "This is Gaius. King of Rezie Maxia and his chancellor Rowen Ilbert."

"King? I've never gotten to see a real king before!" Ludger had never seen Elle so excited.

"Erston" Gaius interrupted. "At the moment I'm just a man about town like any other. Please, call me Erston."

"Nice to meet you Erston" Ludger said with a smile. Eager to get moving.

Erston nodded approvingly, it looked like he was in no rush. "And you Ludger, were it under better circumstances." Ludger gave a serious nod. Jude was in danger and they seemed very calm.

With that the conversation returned to serious situation.

"The question is, how do we go about breaking Jude out?" Rowen began. "We know that he was taken by a group that outnumbers us here. We don't know their numbers but we know that have no qualms about killing Rieze Maxians, or hurting Jude." Rowen paused slightly, head bowed in thought. "Ideally I would prefer to wait and gather more information but we don't know what will happen to Jude if we do so. They gave no indication of what they want him for. I'm concerned" he admitted.

Erston took charge of the situation, "It may be best if Rowen, Ludger and I went to go find him. Leia, would you be so kind as to stay with Elle and try and get in contact with Alvin. If he is nearby his assistance could be useful."

Leia opened her mouth to object, then looked down as the blood stained GHS in her hand. She closed her mouth and nodded. Right now Ludger missed her loud personality, he hadn't known her long but she looked forlorn without Jude there. The two must be close.

Rowen nodded to Erston before turning to Ludger. "Ludger, please could you lead us to where Jude is. We shall scout the area before deciding how we shall go about rescuing him. I may not look like much but I am known as a bit of strategist back home." he smiled deprecatingly.

Erston laughed "You sell yourself short as always Rowen. You are the most famous strategist in Rieza Maxia. Even when we were on opposite sides of the field I always held you in high regard."

"You honour me your highness. But now we must be off, we must go to young Jude's aid." Rowen bowed.

"Indeed" Erston agreed. "Please, lead the way Ludger, do not worry about an ambush, we will be able to take care of them." He sounded so confident and didn't seem very concerned about Jude's situation, Ludger wondered just how strong he was.

With his usual quiet nod Ludger exchanged one last look with the subdued Elle and the downcast Leia before leading the two men back down the alleyways.

XXX xxx XXX

It seemed like an age before they reached the base. Jude was intent on keeping his balance despite them jostling him constantly, a thing made difficult by his arms tied behind him as well as several hard blows to the head. The belt was chafing his skin where it bound his wrists and It would probably hurt a lot more when the circulation was restored to his hands. His nose seemed to have stopped bleeding and Jude could feel the blood drying on his face. Jude wasn't especially vain but he really hoped it would heal straight, the longer he wasn't allowed to look at it the less likely that would be. He could probably cast Healer now and fix it but he didn't think using spirit artes in this particular group would be wise. He would probably end up with a lot worse than a bloody nose.

Jude had a quick check on Ludger through the link before concentrating on not falling over again. At least no one had run after Ludger, that made it worth it. It concerned Jude how ready they were to kill anyone with him on suspicion of being from Rieze Maxia, he was glad he had got Leia and Elle to stay in the populated areas. Who knew what could have happened?

Jude's thoughts were forcibly interrupted as he was pushed through a small doorway tucked in the corner of a small square into a deceptively large house. It wasn't what he expected a base to look like at all. The were comfy chairs in the centre of the main room, tasteful decorations along the walls, a grand staircase leading upwards and Jude could see some people in the decently sized kitchen preparing a large meal. All in all it looked like a home. The lack of windows was the only thing that disrupted the cosy setting.

"Marcus, tell the boss we have him." The salesman commanded the agent who had been intent on shooting Ludger, one side of his face was purple from being kicked. Marcus gave an one-sided smirk at Jude before swaggering upstairs to go tell the boss of their success. Jude took the time to check on Ludger through the link. He was still running, though Jude would guess that Ludger knew where he was now, there was none of the confused panic Jude had felt from him as he was still marching to the base.

Marcus reappeared shortly at the top of the staircase. "Boss said to bring him up Robin, the rest of you can go about your business." Jude guessed Robin must be the salesman as he grabbed Jude's upper arm and half guided, half dragged him up the stairs.

Jude didn't bother struggling, it seemed a bit late at the point, instead he hastened his steps so he was keeping pace with Robin rather than being dragged. He was guided through a comfortable carpeted corridor until they came to an ornate door. Marcus knocked once before opening the door and entering. Robin pushed Jude ahead of him so he stumbled through the door. He mastered his balance with some effort and looked around the room. It was as tastefully furnished as the rest of the house. There was a middle aged, neat looking man with dark brown hair and piercing brown eyes sitting behind a rather large desk. Sitting in front of the desk on a heavily cushioned chair was a younger man with light brown hair and blue eyes who looked around and glared at Jude as he entered. The man behind the desk gave off an aura of command, not dissimilar to Gaius' presence, Jude hazarded a guess that this was the leader of the Braht. So who was the other man?

"Good afternoon Dr Mathis." The man behind the desk broke the silence. "I apologise for the inconvenience but I desired a meeting with you." He didn't look apologetic at all. Jude looked up at the man but said nothing. "I'll admit you look a little worse for wear than I had anticipated. Robin" he turned his gaze to the man standing behind Jude. "What happened?"

"He resisted" Robin supplied shortly. Jude wanted to point out that Robin had struck before Jude even had a chance to resist but decided against it.

"I see, that would explain the bruise on Marcus' face I suppose. You were not seen I hope, I wouldn't want anyone to interrupt our meeting."

Marcus shifted awkwardly and the man younger man in the chair honed in on it. "Marcus. Report."

"The reporter Jolyne went to meet wasn't with him. She said she met with a group of four, yet only two came to the back streets."

Jolyne. Jude suspicions were confirmed.

"Two? Where is the other?"

Marcus hesitated "He... he escaped, sir."

"Why was he alive to escape? Did you hesitate to kill a Rieza Maxian rat?" Jude could hear the loathing in his voice. Was this perhaps a representative from Exodus?

"No!" Marcus protested "I was going to kill him but Robin intervened. The half breed gave his word he wouldn't try anything if the other was kept alive and Robin foolishly believed him."

Half breed? That was the first time Jude had been called that but he supposed it was to be expected eventually.

"Robin?" The leader turned to him for an explanation.

"Sir!" Robin snapped to attention. "The doctor came into the alleyways with another young male, when we threatened his companion he gave his word not to fight if the other boy wasn't harmed. He insisted the other boy was from Elympios and looking closely I could see the mark of the Spirius Corporation on his collar. I sought to bring them both here so you could decide what to do about the boy from Spirius but they broke free from Marcus on the way here. We recaptured the doctor but his friend was gone."

Jude noted that neither of them had mentioned his GHS ringing.

"Did you chase this 'friend'?"

"No sir, we restrained the doctor and bought him back. I believed we might have a time constraint as only half of the group appeared before us and I didn't want to risk being followed."

Ah, that was why he didn't mention the GHS. He believed that even if Jude had told someone he was being attacked they had no way of knowing where they had been taken to. Normally that would be true.

The leader nodded sagely. "You did well Robin, I do not wish to seek conflict with the Spirius Corporation."

Jude shifted slightly; blood was running down his hand from his wrist and it was tickling him. The small movement brought the attention back onto him. "My how rude we have been to our guest. Robin, untie the good doctor, take his coat and bring him a towel so he may wash his face. Dr Mathis, please take a seat next to my colleague, we have much to discuss."

Jude sensed it wasn't so much an invitation as a demand. He stood obediently as Robin untied the belt and slipped his coat off. He cast a regretful look at the once white coat now splattered with blood and dirt. His wrists screamed in protest as the blood rushed back to them but he hid a grimace of pain. He examined them and was concerned by the blood dripping over his hands from the cuts in his wrists as well as his split knuckles.

He felt a small mental probing from Ludger down the link and pushed him back, now was not the time to be distracted.

He forced himself to rest his arms by his sides and act unconcerned, he gratefully accepted a warm, damp towel from Robin and used it to dab at his face, avoiding his rather tender nose. Having covered one side of it in dried blood he folded it and used it to wipe his hands before passing it back to Robin. It didn't help in anyway but somehow Jude felt better knowing his face wasn't covered in his own blood. Acting nonchalant he made his way towards the chair and sat in it. He felt like a mouse staring down hungry snakes.

"Doctor Mathis," the imposing man behind the desk began. "I am the Voice for the leader of the Braht. For obvious reasons the leader does not want his name or face known. The man in the chair to your side is Scott, the current leader of Exodus. In truth your meeting is with him today, we are only acting as mediators in the matter."

This surprised Jude "What matter does Exodus need to discuss with me?"

Scott replied. "As you know we are gathering materials for spyrites, as you are the current expert in the field we request your knowledge."

"Why do you care about spyrites?" Jude asked confused.

Scott grinned cruelly. "We wish to enter the market with them. Spyrites made by true Elympions, not a half-breed brat." He was lying, Jude didn't know about what but that was definitely not the reason he wanted the secret to spyrites.

Jude raised his head defiantly. "Unfortunately it seems as though you have wasted your time. We do not fully understand how to create spyrites yet. And even if we had I have no reason to share the information with you."

Jude stood as if to leave but was stopped by Scott pointing a gun at him. "Unfortunately for you Dr Mathis I'm not asking. You are in the Braht headquarters, you can't possibly think you can just walk out of here."

Scott lowered his gun and grabbed Jude's throat. Not enough to stop him breathing but it was definitely going to leave a bruise. Jude's hands clenched into fists but he willed them to stay by his side. "I won't kill you Dr Mathis, you are much too valuable. Although in truth I would love to get some payback for what you and your group did to Exodus. If you do continue to resist I will simply have to hunt down other people and hurt them until you change your mind." Scott licked his lips. "We have already found your reporter friend once, I'm sure we could lay down a false trail story and take her."

Jude felt the colour rise in his face as what Scott was insinuating. He couldn't let them hurt Leia. But giving them power over the spyrites was unthinkable as well. Who knew what a terrorist group like Exodus would use them for?

"The Voice has kindly provided you with an area to work in the basement. I will give you time to settle in before I come to hear your answer." Scott leaned forward and almost whispered in Jude's ear. "In truth I'm almost hoping you will say no. I really do want to hurt you."

Jude gasped as Scott's grip on his throat grew dangerously tight. Jude retaliated on reflex with a swift punch to the stomach. Scott's hand withdrew as he grabbed at his hurt stomach. Marcus came behind Jude grabbed him by the arms, stopping any further movement.

Jude forced himself to become still, he didn't want a fight here. He was hurt and outnumbered. If he got too injured then he wouldn't be any help if Ludger came back with Gaius and Rowen. He was prepared for Scott's retaliating blow and hardened his muscles against it, the wind was still knocked out of him however. Dragging air back into his lungs past his abused throat hurt more than he wanted to admit. Scott raised his fist to land another blow, but the Voice stopped him.

"Enough. Scott you were foolish to attack a martial artist in such a way. Perhaps you will show appropriate caution in the future. Robin, restrain the good doctor and lead him to his new residence." The Voice turned to Jude, appraising him through his dark brown eyes. "It was interesting to meet you Dr Mathis, I don't believe we will see each other again."

Well that was ominous.

Clearly the Braht were giving a blind eye to Exodus' actions inside their town, in return for what though?

Jude's mind whirled while Robin seized his arms and bound them behind his back again. Jude felt the rough burn of rope rather than the smooth leather of a belt this time and it immediately aggravated his tender wrists.

Robin grabbed Jude by his upper arm and used it to guide him through the door and back down through the house. As they went back past the front door Jude made a note of where it was, who was nearby, then paid attention to the twists and turns they made through the increasingly large house.

Soon they came to a steep set of stairs leading downwards, based on his observations Jude guessed he was behind the kitchen he had seen earlier. Jude cautiously made his way down the stairs, relying heavily on Robin to made sure he didn't fall down them head first. If the big man let go then there would be nothing to stop him smashing his head open on the metal edged stairs.

He dutifully guided him down safely however and Jude breathed a small sigh of relief, he had a feeling if it had been Marcus guiding him he wouldn't have been so lucky. Based on how they reported Marcus was most likely a member of Exodus while Robin was part of the Braht.

Robin guiding him down here gave Jude hope that he wasn't being left entirely at Exodus' questionable mercy.

Robin continued to pull him down a dimly lit corridor until he came to a think wooden door. Jude shivered, missing his coat. His thin black and orange shirt wasn't doing much against the chill of being below ground. Robin pushed the door open then pulled Jude into the room.

It looked like a basic research lab. There was a pile of spirit fossils in the corner as well as some research equipment similar to what Jude had been using in Helioborg. Robin distracted Jude from his musing by tugging him over to a wall near the spirit fossils. As they got near Jude could see a chain bolted into the floor floor with a manacle at the end. Jude knew if that got put on him he wouldn't be going anywhere. As difficult as it was to fight with his hands tied behind his back he could at least still run.

Robin felt Jude tensing his muscles and responded by slamming his head into the wall. Jude dropped to the floor, landing hard without being able to use his hands to stop his fall. His side protested for being landed on twice in one day. His vision swam as Robin took the opportunity to crouch down and attach the manacle to Jude's ankle. He rolled Jude onto his front and undid the rope binding his wrists before rolling him onto his back and grabbing another set of manacles from the side. These had a short chain between them so Jude could still work but fighting had become a lot harder for him. Robin left him on the floor and walked out the room, slamming the door behind him as he went.

Jude lay there for a little while longer, fighting the urge to throw up.

He was pretty sure he had a concussion on top of his other injuries.

Tentatively Jude tried to use Healer but it was no use, his head was swimming and he couldn't concentrate.

Perfect.


	3. Chapter 3

They walked quietly through the alleyways, they didn't suggest running back for which Ludger was grateful, as eager as he was to get back to Jude, his legs and chest were burning from exertion from running earlier. Instead they set a brisk pace with Erston in the lead, Ludger in the middle providing direction and Rowen in the rear checking they weren't followed. To distract Ludger from his worry Rowen told him about how he had met Jude and then Leia.

His distraction worked and Ludger was fascinated despite his concerns.

It was strange to hear how the schism fell through the mouth of someone who had actually done it, it was all a bit sudden from his side. He remembered the arguments for and against the Otherworld Reactor Plan and the idea was hard to stomach at the time, but even more so now that he had met Rieze Maxians in person. And Erston. Someone as small as Jude had taken on a giant like Erston and won. No wonder they weren't too worried for him, their calmness infused Ludger and he found himself relaxing.

He had wondered if all Rieze Maxians were short, Erston however seemed to disprove that. He mentioned the thought to Rowen and the older man laughed. "I can see where your concerns came from, although I would be hesitant about mentioning it in front of Jude. As you can see most Rieze Maxians have the same average height as Elympions, however Jude is only sixteen and hasn't quite had his growth spurt yet. Having met his father though I'm sure he has a bit more to grow."

Sixteen? Ludger's heart froze. During Rowen's story he had envisioned as him about Ludger's own age.

That would mean he was fifteen when he had saved both worlds. He had thought them much closer in age. He and Jude were fast becoming friends despite the age difference between the two. Jude acted like someone much older than his years, he wondered if he was always like that or if his adventures the year before had changed him.

Sixteen.

And Ludger had let him sacrifice himself so he could escape. It didn't matter that Jude had all but commanded him through the link, Ludger should have insisted on staying and escaping together.

Ludger took a deep steadying breath and nearly walked into Erston. He looked up in confusion at the man and saw his serious gaze focused on the ground in front of him.

There was blood on the street.

This is where he and Jude had parted.

The blood hadn't been there when he left.

Rowen crouched down next to the small puddles on the cobblestones, removed a glove and dabbed at them. "These are quite fresh, the blood is bright so nothing vital was hit." He looked up at Ludger and seemed to see the anguish in his eyes. "Do not regret your decision to leave him. Jude is resourceful I'm sure he isn't too badly hurt. It is possible he heard Leia say she was with us and trusted us to find him." Ludger looked aside from Rowen's piercing gaze. Guilt still plagued him.

"Where are we going from here Ludger?" Erston interrupted, despite Rowen's words of reassurance there was a stillness in Erston now.

Ludger took a deep breath then stepped forward to lead the way. It was going to get harder from here on. He had been using his memory to guide them to the point he had left Jude. Now he only had a feeling of being tugged in a direction and Ludger doubted the small streets would have a convenient straight path there.

He was right

They went through numerous streets and were constantly met by dead ends. It was eerie how quiet the streets were. They didn't see a single soul as the prowled through Duvals back areas and the group were beginning to become edgy in the silence. After about an hour of fruitless searching through the streets the connection seemed to finally be getting stronger. Ludger felt hopeful they might finally find Jude.

His optimism was broken by a sharp pain blossoming across his back.

He fell to his knees, gasping desperately for air. There was another blow and Ludger arched in pain, a shout escaping him. He was vaguely aware of Erston and Rowen crouching beside him in concern. Three more blows followed in quick succession as Ludger's mind was reeling from shock before the pain disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived.

It was as if a door had been shut and as the shock wore off Ludger realised what had happened. Jude had been hurt and had been unable to control the link. The pain had bled through their connection before Jude could force himself to seal it up. Tears stung Ludger's eyes as his heart pounded and he struggled to pull breath into his lungs. He tried to reach through the link to see if Jude was okay but was pushed back again.

Shaking, he forced himself to his feet, shrugging off Rowen's concerned hands.

"We need to find Jude" he spoke quietly, afraid his fear and worry would seep into his voice.

"What happened?" Erston asked, his voice did not show his concern but tension showed through his posture. Ludger shook his head unwilling to speak about it until he had controlled himself.

"I would surmise that Jude has been hurt, some of that pain spread through their link. Since Ludger no longer seems to be in pain it seems Jude has limited their link again." Rowen explained, looking at Ludger for confirmation. Ludger nodded once solemnly.

They pressed onwards through the small streets, Ludger felt the odd twinge of pain as he focussed on finding Jude but it was muted.

It felt like days had passed since he and Jude had parted. Ludger imagined that for Jude it had seemed even longer. He rested his hand on the gauntlets hanging at his back, took a deep steadying breath and continued on.

XXX xxx XXX

Jude didn't know how long he lay there while his head adjusted to the pain and the nausea, it could have been minutes or hours.

After a while Jude focussed and tried Healer again. This time it worked although it was very weak and he nearly passed out from the effort. He wouldn't try that again for a while, he couldn't afford to lose the link. The room was no longer swimming around him, he could cope with the headache and other assorted aches and pains. Jude instead forced himself to try and sit up, it was quite a challenge with chained hands limiting his movement but he managed it. Blood was creeping down the side of his face, he must have cut his head when he impacted the wall.

He took a few deep breaths against the pain before dragging his foot towards him and began examining the manacle on his ankle. The chain was long enough for him to go about five steps in any direction. Enough for him to reach the table and research station but not enough to reach the door.

That had to be the first thing to go if he was going to get out of here. It didn't look like he was going to have much luck with it. The manacle itself was thick and without the key there was no way he was going to get it off. The bolt in the floor wasn't going to move either, it looked like it had been sunk into the stone. The links were thick but Jude decided if he was going to have any chance of getting free then forcing one apart would be his best bet. Cautiously Jude got to his feet, using the wall to keep himself from falling over. His hip screeched as he stood, he hoped he hadn't done anything too serious when he had fallen onto it. He was concerned by how dizzy he was as well.

Was it the concussion or was it from blood loss?

He wasn't sure how much he had lost before hitting his head, but based on the state of the towel earlier it was a substantial amount.

Using the wall as a crutch Jude limped towards the small table serving as a research station, maybe if he was lucky he would be able to find a bit of metal he could use as a leverage to force apart the chain links. As he approached the table however he heard a key rattle in the lock of the wooden door. Jude forced himself away from the wall and attempted to stand upright. He didn't want to look as weak as he felt.

Scott came through the door followed by Marcus, Jude saw a brief glimpse of Robin guarding the door on the other side before it shut again. Scott paced around the edges of the room, careful to stay out of range of Jude's chains. It seemed he had learned caution from being hit earlier. Marcus wasn't so wary and stood close to Jude, glaring at him as if daring him to try something.

"Well Dr Mathis, how do you like your room? Please let me know if you need anything in particular to help you with your research and I shall provide it. We will be spending a lot of time together in the future so it is best if we learn to work together." Scott's smirked through his fake courtesy.

"My freedom would be nice" Jude replied sarcastically. Gesturing at his chained ankle with his bound hands. He would have liked to have sounded strong but his voice cracked slightly, his throat sore from Scott's attack before.

Scott's smirk disappeared. "I think not Dr Mathis, I will take no chances with you running. I got carried away earlier but I will not forget that you took part in the murder of our honoured leader as well as several members of our group."

"Gilland died because his link with Celsius rebounded" Jude corrected viciously. "He screwed up and got himself killed." Jude forced himself not to cough as his throat burned. He didn't know why he was antagonising the man when Jude was clearly at is mercy but he knew he didn't want to roll over for them.

He was fully expecting the punch to his stomach and managed to manoeuvre his arms to block it. Jude smirked at Marcus' angry expression. With his arms in front of him he was able to defend himself a lot better than when they were trussed up behind him and Jude intended to take full advantage of that fact.

"Marcus get back here. No need to antagonise the good doctor, after all he will be working with us for a while. He can't do that if your trying to break his ribs."

"I told you Scott, I have no intention of working with Exodus. When we finally unlock the power of spyrites that information will be shared with all to free Elympios from the use of spyrix." Jude paused. "Exodus got what they wanted, the schism was broken and they returned home. Why are you still fighting?"

It was a question Jude had been asking himself for the past year. Even once the fighting with Gaius was done and Milla took her place as Maxwell, Jude had still received threats and there had been small terrorist incidents throughout both Rieze Maxia and Elympios as well as Exodus protested against the the peace process.

"Because Rieze Maxia is a world of evil." He said it so matter of factly that Jude stilled.

"I was only a child when the Zenethra landed," he continued. "I was working as a cabin boy. I even knew you father, the true Dr Mathis. He healed me when I was injured by the ship's impact and I remember being amazed by his skills as a doctor. The few times we ventured to land were horrible. The people of Rieze Maxia were cruel to those who couldn't reach the spirits and we were treated like freaks. The senior Dr Mathis was the only one able to move amongst them, he even healed them in return for food and security. We began to hate the Rieze Maxians and blamed them for pulling us into the world."

Jude opened his mouth to protest but Scott cut him off. "Obviously I now know that it was a freak accident, but at the time we could think of nothing else. Soon we were hunted by Maxwell whenever we used spyrix. We didn't know they were killing spirits. We can't feel or see them.

"Your father leaving us to settle down with a Rieze Maxian whore was a blow to us." Jude gritted his teeth but didn't interrupt. "Yet it also provided us with valuable information. Your childhood was watched by our agents you know. We wanted to know if Elympios blood was strong so you could become one of us, maybe we could even colonise. Imagine the horror when you were seen to channel spirits. We dared not mate with the rats, our pure blood would be overcome by their filth. Instead our numbers dwindled as we were hunted down or lost to disease and injury. Stuck on a rusting boat, we plotted. If we couldn't colonise then we should break the wall between the worlds and let Elympios purge the vermin from the green lands and we could move to there. Away from our dying world. And so the plan for the Lance of Kresnik came to be."

Scott's blue eyes stared into Jude's amber ones. "The rest you know Demon. I won't sully your fathers memory by calling you Dr any further. You are simply Demon. The result of a misguided traitor mating with a rat and causing our world to fall."

"The world isn't falling" Jude interrupted. "We are working on a way to bring it back to life. That's what the spyrites are, a way to fix the damage spyrix has done."

"And they were Gilland's creation." Scott spat. "Yet here you are, lording your science and spirit artes over us like it was your great design. The original plans for spyrites came from Exodus. Yet once the schism was brought down we were pushed aside, petty annoyances. Terrorists. They never even considered welcoming us home.

"No. They listened to you. A fifteen year old half breed who broke the schism and made a point to tell our government about how evil we were until we were treated like criminals by our own home. A home we had dreamed of returning to for twenty years." Scott finished. He had a fanatical gleam in his eyes and for the first time since he had been taken, Jude was genuinely afraid.

Jude finally understood what drove Exodus now. It was vindictiveness.

He didn't even think to argue against the venom Scott had poured out. This guy was the new leader of Exodus? Jude almost missed the ambitions of Gilland. At least he had been sane.

Jude was forced to abruptly realise how much danger he was in. This man held him responsible for all that had gone wrong in his life and was using him as a focal point for his misplaced anger.

"A demon of the alleyways stalking people. A regular guy hiding a monstrous power" Jude muttered. "How long have you been looking for me exactly?"

"You worked it out huh?" Marcus sneered. "Heard you were part of the terrorist incident on the train, it's the first solid lead we had for a while. Knew you would want to know more so sent innocent looking old Jolyne out to fish for you. Knew you would use your connections to get the information you needed. This room has been waiting for you since news of the train hi-jacking."

Scott grinned. "I want to destroy you Demon. To purge you from this world. But first I need you to do something for me. You will create a powerful spyrite for me. One that can't be controlled. And we will unleash it on Trigleph."

Jude's eyes grew wide in horror as Scott continued. "Public support over your spyrites will disappear overnight. And then you will make another that can destroy it. Exodus will use it to save the city and we will rise as the predominant spryite experts in the world. We will be welcomed back to our home with open arms. You will be disgraced. I'm sure we could even spin it so it looked like Rieze Maxia unleashed it on purpose. Then our army will eradicate your kind.

"I'll keep you as a pet at the foot of my throne and I'll even let you watch as we slaughter every Rieze Maxian we can find. And once I finish and your spirit is broken and you beg for death I shall finally kill you." Scott's grin had become manic.

Jude recoiled in horror and fear. He was in the clutches of a madman. Not even facing Gaius and Gilland in the battle of Fezebel Marsh had Jude felt so vulnerable.

"Never" Jude tried to shout but his voice cracked. Panic was running through his veins and he began to hyperventilate. "I will never do that. I will kill you first." Jude went to leap at Scott in a desperate attempt to kill him but was brought just short by the chain around his ankle and fell. Hands outstretched Jude tried to claw towards Scott, far past rational thought, determined to end him.

Never before had Jude felt such a need to kill. This man was dangerous, not only to him but to the world.

He was an infection that needed removing before it killed the whole body.

Marcus' stamped down on one of Jude's hands and held him there. Jude frantically tried to prise the boot off of his fingers but Marcus put his weight on it and Jude felt the bones crunch. Jude's mind barely processed the pain as he tried to get at Scott.

Scott paced around Jude's prone form calmly. "You see Demon, you show your true self now. It seems you need to be tamed. Allow me to take the first step in your training."

Jude heard the sound of a belt being undone and froze. He wouldn't would he?

He was almost relieved when the buckle slammed into his back.

Almost.

Jude arched his back, it felt like fire was licking at it. Another blow landed and he gritted his teeth against the pain. He wouldn't call out.

Jude lasted through three more hits before that resolve gave out.

On the sixth hit he finally gave voice to his agony. He wasn't even aware of Marcus' foot slowly breaking his hand, his mind was consumed by the all encompassing pain that was radiating from his back. His screams were tearing through his damaged throat and he could taste blood. He had bitten his tongue again. Four more strokes landed and Jude was barely hanging on. Scott had hit the same spot with each stroke and Jude could feel the warm sticky blood pooling in the centre of his spine. Belatedly Jude realised he had lost control of the link and his pain was bleeding through to Ludger. He carefully reigned it in even as his body shook with pain and fended off Ludger's quest towards him.

"I will be back Demon, when I do I hope you will be more obedient." Scott's voice seemed to be floating to Jude through an ocean of pain and he didn't even flinch as Marcus removed his boot and stepped away. He heard the door open and close as they left him to his suffering but Jude didn't even twitch.

He was battling to stay conscious. If he passed out he would lose his connection to Ludger and would never be found.

That thought scared Jude more than anything right now.


	4. Chapter 4

Time passed in a haze for Jude as he lay there trembling.

Every time he moved his back screamed at him until he lay still again. Yet still he edged himself backwards until the wall was behind him.

He felt too exposed lying in the middle of the floor.

His head was spinning and he couldn't concentrate long enough to cast Healer on himself.

He felt the odd mental push from Ludger but fended it off, he wouldn't be able to shield the pain from him if he tried to talk and he had no information to share either.

Instead Jude began cataloguing all he did know as a way to distract himself.

Braht and Exodus were working together. Exactly what Braht would gain from this exchange remained to be seen. Jude was currently in the basement of Braht's headquarters in Duval, somewhere in the labyrinth of back streets.

It wasn't much to go on.

Jude wondered if Braht even knew what Exodus planned to do to Trigleph? Maybe they had threatened to do it to Duval unless the Braht co-operated?

That seemed unlikely. It was more likely that Braht had picked Trigleph itself.

Exodus would have been more likely to focus their hate on Marksburg.

It was possible that the houses around the square the door to this house had been in was all part of this one house. Did that mean there was more than one door in and out? There must be, it would be suspicious if all agents used the same door and none of the others. Did that mean there were numerous back doors as well?

It was possible that an avenue of escape might not mean going through the more heavily populated areas. But if he didn't go out the door he came through he would be hopelessly lost and would probably get caught again.

No, better the enemy that you know and all that. Any escape would have to go through the front door so he could find his way back.

All of that planning was pointless though as Jude was currently too injured to move much, let alone get past Robin a few dozen Exodus and Braht agents and run then back through Duval to get to his friends without being caught.

Jude didn't even know how many people were in the house.

He sighed and tried to sit up. Agony shot through him and he lay on his side against the wall shaking.

Unable to do anything about his back, Jude instead focussed his attention onto his hand. Marcus had stomped on his left hand. He tried to flex it but the fingers barely twitched and pain ran through it. He tenderly prodded it with his right and felt hard ridges in three of his fingers. Two of his knuckles were turning purple as they bruised. His thumb appeared to be dislocated as well. With a pained sigh Jude carefully and agonisingly pulled his shirt over his head leaving just his black top to cover him until it was sitting on top of his bound hands. One part of it was torn and splattered with blood.

Steeling himself Jude pushed his thumb back into place.

A whimper escaped him as he bit his lip and the world spun a little. Before he could persuade himself against it he then reset his fingers one by one. He then ripped the shirt from his right wrist and wound it around his left hand to keep his damaged hand in place and protect it from further harm while it healed. If he did manage to cast Healer he didn't want to have to reset them at a later date. Eyes watering, he probed his nose it was broken but didn't feel too lopsided, without a mirror he would have to leave it be.

Jude sighed and let his mind wander again as he tried to think of a way out of this mess before Scott came back.

Scott.

Jude shook. He was being held by a madman. He fully believed him when he said he would kill everyone in front of Jude. It was a possibility even if Jude refused to build an out of control spyrite for them.

And he would refuse.

After all he had gone through saving both worlds he wouldn't let them destroy one another. Jude wondered if Gaius and Rowen were with Ludger. Most likely. He now considered that the three of them might not be enough. Jude had underestimated the manpower that Braht and Exodus had combined. While Gaius could probably destroy the house without too much effort there was a high risk of Jude being taken hostage. He had not anticipated being a burden when he had sent Ludger off to find them. He had been overconfident that they wouldn't hurt him.

The door opening broke Jude from his self destructive thoughts. He tensed up as he saw boots at his eye level before looking up.

It was Robin.

Jude didn't think he would ever be so happy to see him.

Or anyone other than Scott really.

Robin stalked over to him before crouching down. He placed down a jug of water a small loaf of bread and a single apple gel. There was no concern in his eyes as he glanced at Jude's prone form and crudely bandaged hand, there was only boredom and a shadow of distaste. It seemed that while Robin didn't mind hurting him to ensure Jude's cooperation, he didn't like the idea of Scott hurting him when he was already caught.

Interesting ethics.

"They want to destroy Trigleph and wage war on Rieze Maxia. What do Braht get out of helping them?" Jude didn't even know why he asked. Knowing would make no difference to his chances of getting out. The response he got surprised him.

"We get to destroy Trigleph, making Duval the new capital city under our control and we get to wage war of Rieze Maxia" Robin replied with a grin.

"And me? What do the Braht have against me?"

"Unlike Exodus, we have no quarrel with you Dr Mathis. This is simply an unpleasant but necessary means to an end." Jude was right then, he had seen distaste but it didn't seem like Robin was going to be an ally if he tried to break out. He was too happy with the end result to protest. "I suggest you get to work Dr Mathis, it would be wise to stay on Exodus' good side. You have already had a taste of their bad."

With that Robin straightened and without another word, left the room, locking the door behind him.

Cautiously Jude edged over to the water and after sniffing it cautiously took a deep drink. It tasted of blood but still soothed his torn throat. He took another smaller mouthful and swirled it around his mouth before spitting it out. It was bright red. He took another mouthful and this time the iron taste had diminished and he could enjoy it more. He saved half of it before turning to the bread. It was fresh, not stale. Jude broke it into pieces to check there weren't any pills or liquid inside it before biting into it.

The first bite reminded him how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten since the morning and he had no idea how long ago that was now. He quickly consumed the rest before sipping more of the water. He wanted to drink it all but had no idea how long it would be before he got any more. Instead Jude reached for the apple gel. At first he was suspicious but then realised a single apple gel wasn't going to be of much help to him. But, It might give him enough energy to cast Healer again though. Before he could over analyse it Jude bit into it. Devouring it in two bites. Glancing at the bared knuckles of his right hand he saw the split skin scab over as it started to heal. His back got a prickly feeling along it and Jude guessed the damage there was doing the same. The throbbing and fog in his head lessened and his vision became slightly sharper. Jude took a deep breath and was relieved to feel it come through his throat without catching. He was by no mean healed but he could move easier and no longer felt like he would pass out. Not that he was going to try standing again unless he had to.

Jude had a choice, he had enough mana to either cast Healer or use Demon Fist to try and break the chain around his ankle. Healer would give him the health to run but he would have no stamina, no mana and he would still be chained. Demon Fist would get him free but he wouldn't be moving quickly and if he failed to escape then he would be seriously injured,have no mana and be chained.

It came down to how much he trusted Ludger to find Gaius and Rowen and to return. Now that Jude had recovered some strength he reached down the link to Ludger. He was closer than he thought.

Ludger?

No reply

Ludger, can you hear me?

Jude? Ludger finally responded. Jude are you okay? Are you safe?

Jude pondered that before answering. The answer to both was no, but he didn't want to make Ludger feel guilty about leaving him. It was Jude's decision and despite what had happened he didn't regret it. Instead he changed the subject Are Gaius and Rowen with you?.

Ludger knew he had changed the subject on purpose, he could feel his worry through the link but he accepted Jude's evasion. Yeah, I found them talking to Leia on the main street. Leia stayed behind with Elle but Rowen and Erston came with me to find you. We think we found the place you are being kept. A set of houses in the corner of a square. Jude sent his affirmation through the link.

Erston? Gaius must be travelling incognito. Damn Leia wasn't with them. Looked like healing himself was the better option. Both Gaius and strong and Rowen were strong but neither had healing abilities. Part of Jude was tempted to ask them to go back and get her so they had another healer with them in case they didn't get to him before Scott came back. But he didn't want to delay getting out.

Bear with me one second , my GHS is ringing. Typical, trust Ludger's GHS to ring during an important conversation. While Ludger was conversing with whoever was on the other end Jude slowly lifted himself off of the floor until he was sitting up properly. With some careful manoeuvring Jude was able to rest the top of his shoulder blades against the cold stone while keeping his tender back away from the wall. He took a deep breath and waited.

Jude? Ludger's voice floated back to him.

Hmm?

That was Leia. She got in touch with someone called Alvin and he is coming to Duval with Elize and Teepo.

Alvin? Elize? Jude perked up instantly. Elize was the best healer in their group and with the added bonus of Teepo Drain Jude would be able to recover his mana enough to help. Things were looking up finally. Alvin's past history with Exodus might make it possible to talk some sense into Scott and the other members. Maybe. If not then another fighter would be good.

Jude could sense Ludger was hesitating about something. What is it?

They are coming over from Helioborg. They won't be here until tomorrow morning. Jude's heart froze. Rowen says the choice is yours Jude, do you think the three of us can get you out or will we need support?

It was a valid question and part of Jude was tempted to just beg them to get him out.

But it wouldn't be easy, they would probably get hurt and if Jude got taken hostage he had no doubt they would be forced to surrender.

Then Scott would murder them in front of him.

Taking a deep breath Jude made the decision. Wait for them, You will be heavily outnumbered, the house is a maze and I. Jude paused before admitting. I won't be able to fight with you. Alvin is strong and Elize is an amazing healer. You will need them.

Jude... be honest. How badly are you hurt? How much danger are you in?

Jude really didn't want to answer either of those. He ignored the first question in favour of the second. He owed them enough to let them know what they were walking into. They would see him soon enough anyway. Hopefully.

They want me to do something for them. Something I won't do. They will hurt me but won't kill me.

They will try to get at you to make me change my mind. He hoped that was enough warning for them.

Where are you hurt Jude? Damn he was insistent. But Jude understood they needed to know so they could assess how well he would be able to fight.

My left hand is broken, I have a mild concussion and my back is damaged although I don't know how badly. I am currently chained up in a basement and there is little chance of me getting out on my own.

There was a pause, then We found blood on the street where I left you.

Jude cursed to himself, he must have worried Ludger sick. Oh, I broke my nose. It's not too bad though. just bled a lot.

Ludger seemed to accept this and Jude felt some of the worry leave him. We are going to head back to meet them, we will leave a small trail so we can find our way back quickly just in case. Just in case they lost the link, Jude understood, they wanted to be able to find him should Scott change his mind about keeping him alive.

When you see Alvin, tell him someone called Scott is the head of Exodus, he might know him.

And Ludger, remember the link will break if you sleep.

That was the same for Jude as well. It was mid-morning when he had been taken and he wasn't going to see anyone until at least the morning tomorrow. It was going to be a long night but Jude had done longer. He was more concerned about being knocked out.

Jude decided against using Healer until the group had come for him. The pain would help him stay awake.

Hopefully Scott would leave him for the night.

XXX xxx XXX

Ludger had been relieved beyond words to hear from Jude.

He was less than happy about having to leave him again though. Only the sheer relief and joy Ludger had felt from when he had mentioned Alvin, Elize and Teepo convinced him that leaving was a good idea.

"They will try to get at you to make me change my mind." Jude's words echoed around his mind. Was that why Braht had tried to take Ludger as well? Were Leia and Elle safe? If Leia had been threatened and Jude still hadn't backed down then whatever they were asking him to do must be truly horrific.

Ludger, Rowen and Erston were quiet on the way back. The only thing that broke their silence was the sound of Rowen marking their way back at every intersection with his daggers so they could get back to Jude quickly.

It was heading towards evening when the group emerged near the bar and Ludger was exhausted.

He flipped open his GHS and called Jude's number, he hadn't had a chance to get Leia's before they split up.

She answered almost immediately "Jude?"

"I'm sorry Leia, we didn't get him." He almost heard her hope snap over the line. "We are going to wait for Alvin and Elize to join us. Where are you so we can meet up?"

"We are at the inn nearby. We were just about to get some food." At the mention of food Ludger's stomach forcibly reminded him that he hadn't eaten all day with a large growl.

Ignoring the amused looks of Rowen and Erston Ludger replied that they would be there soon.

XXX

After a rather subdued dinner Ludger sat in the room he was sharing with Rowen and Erston. A depressed Leia and a rather tired Elle had retired to another room. Rowen had fallen asleep as soon as he had reached his bed while Erston stayed in the common room a while longer to listen to the locals.

Ludger had elected to sit on the hard floor rather than the soft bed to help keep himself awake and let his mind run through all that had happened. Soon his mind began to provide "What if" scenarios until Ludger felt sick.

Erston quietly walked through the door as Ludger was busy mentally beating himself up for leaving Jude and leaving him in this situation. He was now too far away from the boy to even converse with him, they could only send each other small nudges over the link to help stay awake. Erston looked over at Ludger sitting there and beckoned him towards the door.

Reluctantly Ludger stood and made his way over. "Come walk with me Ludger, it would be good for you to keep your mind busy. It will be a very long night otherwise."

Ludger nodded and followed the man out of the door into the night.

They stopped by the job vendor as they went through town and picked up a couple of bounties for local monsters on the Alest Highroad. "Leia mentioned you were in some financial difficulty due to extenuating circumstances." Erston informed him. "I normally find training as a good way to pass the time, if it helps you repay your debt then that would be an added bonus."

Ludger nodded "Thank you, but you don't have to stay up with me Erston, I'm sure you are tired."

"On the contrary I am wide awake. I can not rest properly knowing Jude is in danger. It is strange, we fought last year but we felt no animosity towards each other. Indeed I admired his resolve and strength. Now I hope to share a common purpose with him in the future so we might fight alongside one another."

They reached the field and Erston pulled out his sword. It was immense. Ludger had never seen a weapon like it before but Erston handled it easily in a two handed grip. Jude and his friends fought this guy? "Ready your weapon Ludger" Erston reminded him and Ludger hastened to obey. He readied his twin blades in an easy reverse grip and lost himself in battles for a little while. They reached one end of the Highroad easily before making their way back as the dawn light started to glow around them.

Duval was in sight when it happened.

It felt like someone had driven a sword through Ludger's leg.

He dropped where he stood and started screaming. He couldn't help himself.

He wasn't aware of Erston picking him up and carrying him on his back. He had only vague memories of Erston's strong back under him as he both carried Ludger and fought the creatures off that were drawn by Ludger's cries of pain.

Ludger had been reduced to whimpers as they ran through the town, the pain was still excruciating but he felt as though he was being held at a distance from it. Was Jude trying to protect him even now? That was undoubtedly where the pain was coming from. Ludger had acquired some small scrapes from fighting monsters through the night but he hadn't seriously injured himself.

Exhaustion and pain were battling with Ludger as he was carried back to the inn, he longed to just give in and pass out but didn't want to lose his connection to Jude. He was placed back in his room next to an awake Rowen and writhed around in pain, determined to remain conscious.

"Ludger, break the link, you don't need to suffer like this. We have a path to him. Alvin and Elize will be here soon, we can go to him as soon as they arrive. Ludger." He heard Rowen's voice but ignored it

It was probably stupid, but he didn't want him to suffer alone. It didn't matter that Ludger could do nothing, he didn't want the boy to have no one know what was happening to him. No doubt he would make light of it when he was eventually found. They also put Jude in more danger if they didn't know exactly where he was when they broke into the house.

Or if he was alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Jude was in luck, Scott did leave him for the night. But still Jude jumped at every sound as he dreaded him returning. The tension helped keep him awake. He felt the odd nudge from Ludger and sent them in return but they were too far away to converse. Instead Jude let his mind wander to his research, the very reason he was here in the first place.

His fingers, nose and back had settled into a constant dull ache, as long as he didn't try and move them. He stayed in his awkward propped up position; it hurt too much to lay back down and he didn't want to have to sit back up if someone came for him.

With no concept of time the night seemed endless. He only knew it was night at all because Alvin and Elize had to wait until the following morning for a train. He hated to drag them into danger like this but it would be difficult to get out without their help.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching, he focussed on the sound as they grew closer, dread filling his stomach. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? They only needed to ignore him until help came.

He didn't bother standing, as much as he wanted to it would just tire him out even more and he had enough of falling. His side had slowly stiffened from being landed on twice the previous day and he probably had significant bruising down his side. Instead he adopted a relaxed pose, his shoulder blades still against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him so his chained ankle was next to the bolt in the floor.

Jude closed his eyes and listened to the footsteps, it appeared Scott was trying to sneak up on him while he was asleep.

Indeed the door opened with barely a squeak and Jude heard two sets of shoes enter the room. Neither person said a word. The door shut behind them and there was silence.

With a calmness Jude didn't feel he slowly opened his golden eyes and looked at his guests. Marcus seemed surprised to see him awake, indeed he looked like had just been dragged out of bed, but Scott didn't, he was as fresh faced as he had been the last time Jude had seen him some hours ago. The sight of him still made Jude sick and furious but the pain lancing through his back kept him still.

"Good morning demon," Scott greeted him. "I had hoped to see you hard at work but you seem quite comfortable down there. I suppose you needed a rest after such a trying day yesterday. Tell me have you made a decision?"

What to say? Should he pretend to work to buy himself time for the others to rescue him or should he refuse outright to comply. The first option sounded like the better one if Jude was honest, although his stubborn pride wanted to favour the second.

"I can do nothing without my notes and some food. Also your friend there seems to have broken some of my fingers" Middle ground it was. Not refusing but not being helpful either.

"Hmm, you are certainly more polite than you were yesterday demon, I see my training has worked to some degree." Marcus smirked from behind Scott. "I don't believe you need notes, I had heard you were something of a genius despite being a half blood. Food shall be given as a reward for good behaviour, of which I am yet to see. As for your hand, let me see." At Scott's gesture Marcus crouched down before Jude and he resisted the impulse to kick out at him. Instead as Scott beckoned to him over Marcus' shoulder he slowly extended his chained hands, the left one still bound by his torn shirt. With a glance at Scott, Marcus began unwrapping the hand, Jude held in small hisses of pain as he moved the carefully bound digits until it was fully exposed.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The fingers had swollen and the skin around them had turned black from bruising. There was dried blood on the back of his hand from where his knuckles had split. The area around his thumb was the worst, it was nearly twice the size and when Marcus brushed it it was agonising. At a nod from Scott and ignoring Jude's winces of pain Marcus probed the hand, not caring if he was gentle or not.

"It's all been reset, I would guess three broken fingers, probably a dislocated thumb." Jude was surprised at his knowledge, but if his father had been the only doctor on board the Zenethra then it made sense that Exodus members would have picked up some basic medial knowledge. "The cuts have scabbed over quickly, too quickly to be natural. I would guess that he had tried to heal himself." Marcus' grip on his hand became crushing and Jude gasped in pain.

"Tut tut Demon" Scott said condescendingly "It's not a punishment if you try and heal yourself from it."

Scott turned to Marcus dispassionately. "Re-break his fingers."

Jude had a moments warning to steel himself and limit the link between him and Ludger before the first snap reached his ears. The screaming pain followed shortly afterwards and Jude whimpered, he couldn't help himself. He frantically bit at his lip until it bled to keep from crying out as Marcus methodically broke each of his fingers before releasing the hand.

He didn't even think to say it was from an apple gel given to him by Robin. It probably wouldn't have made any difference to them anyway. His mind was a whirl of pain as he tried to keep it contained within himself to avoid alerting Ludger. It scared him more that Marcus' face didn't even change as he did it. He took no pleasure in it but neither did it disgust him.

How many people had he done this to?

Scott watched as Jude cradled his left hand in his right and curled over as much as his back would allow him. "Your dirty magic isn't allowed in here demon. Do it again and I will break the other." Jude glared up at him and was ashamed to feel tears in his eyes from the pain, frustration and general unfairness of it all. Jude had been in plenty of fights but he had never been hurt like this. Methodically with the intent to cause him as much pain as possible and he was struggling with it. As a doctor he could never imagine doing something like this to another human being, not even Exodus.

Despite the words he had spit at Scott earlier he had even felt pity for Gilland in his final moments and he had not enjoyed watching his death. Instead Gilland's death was what had pushed Jude to research spyrites in the first place, although without the dominion that Gilland had over Celsius.

Not that he was going to tell Scott that.

"So demon. I will ask nicely one last time. Will you share with us your research for syprites and will you build one for me so that we can refashion Elympios on Rieze Maxia? This is your last warning, if you refuse we will hurt you for the information. If you still refuse we will find your friends and family, bring them here and slowly torture them to death in front of you until you break."

Again, Jude was faced with the decision. Agree and hope Ludger got him out on time or refuse and face the consequences.

If he got much more hurt then he wouldn't be able to help Ludger and the rescue team coming for him. Scott had said morning so he shouldn't have to hold out much longer.

Jude nodded once before leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes to the pain and rising shame.

"Good demon, see, that wasn't too bad. You see Marcus, this is how you train animals. Let them see that cooperation is the easiest path."

Jude desperately tried to ignore Scott's gloating.

"So my little pet. Create a spyrite for me."

Jude's eyes shot open.

"Now? You know the research isn't finished yet don't you? I can't just create a spyrite straight away." Scott's face had fallen as Jude spoke and was beginning to become murderous before he forcibly calmed himself.

"I think you misunderstand my little demon. I'm not asking for one of your everyday spyrites that you are trying to create. I'm asking you to create a Celsius for me. One of my own great spirits so that I may command them to do my bidding."

"I don't have any of the great spirit fossils." Jude protested.

"Here." Scott fished out a large spirit fossil from his suit jacket. It was beautiful. "I believe this was the spirit Aska. The Great Spirit of Light. I have provided you the tools that Gillandor used to create Celsius. Now make a spyrite for me."

This wasn't going at all to plan. Scott was meant to leave him too it so he had time to work and stall for time. Jude now regretted agreeing, no doubt Scott's anger would be harsher now that Jude was going to turn back on his word. And he was going to do so. No matter how much he was going to suffer he wouldn't imprison Aska as he himself had been imprisoned by Scott. Not to mention the untold deaths if Jude did.

Closing his eyes briefly Jude gathered his resolve to him. "No. What Gilland did to Celsius was monstrous. I refuse to do that to another spirit. If you wanted a free spyrite then I would be more than happy to..."

Jude didn't get any further before he received a blow to the chest. The force pushed him back and his damaged back slammed against the wall. Jude arched in pain as the wind flew out of him. Scott grabbed him by the front of his top and hauled him upwards.

Jude had half a second to marvel at how strong he was before Scott's hands moved to his throat and he started gasping for breath. "I have been patient with you my little demon. Even gave you a chance to obey and work for me without hurting you too much. But you continue to defy me. I will not have it." Scott's grip grew tighter and Jude felt his head get light as he was being strangled.

Jude raised his fists between them and Scott released his grip on the throat in order to grab Jude's damaged left hand in a tight grip. Jude gasped in pain before pulling himself back, balancing on his chained right ankle before delivering a devastating roundhouse kick at Scott.

A kick that he caught.

Jude's eyes went wide in horror as Scott used his arm to grab Jude's leg before brutally and efficiently breaking it with a large crack.

Jude dropped to the floor screaming. Glancing at his leg he could see there were odd lumps in his leg where the bone had separated beneath his skin. Still he could not stop screaming and he lay on the floor. He could feel the resultant echo of pain in Ludger but could do nothing as his mind scrabbled to comprehend what had happened. He didn't know how long he lay there screaming through his abused throat but it seemed endless. He wasn't even aware of Scott and Marcus watching him writhe as Robin rushed in.

He gasped frantically for air through his bruised throat as Robin knelt down next to him. Carefully the big man felt Jude's leg through his trousers before looking up at the boy. Jude didn't even respond, his cries were getting weaker and he wasn't moving much anymore but he was clearly still in a lot of pain.

Robin continued to feel the leg and found where the break was. Swearing under his breath his carefully aligned the bones of Jude's leg up with each other before grabbing Jude's tatty red and black shirt and two small planks of wood from the research area and created a rough splint for the boy. He then carefully but quickly reset the bones in Jude's hand once again but with nothing to bind them with he had to leave them where they were. The boy didn't even flinch when he had done all that, he must be in shock.

Robin frantically rummaged through his pockets until he came up with an orange gel.

Not quite an apple one but it would have to do. Shaking Jude's shoulders he roused him from his limp state

"Dr Mathis. Dr Mathis, please eat this." he crammed the orange gel into Jude's mouth and moved his jaw to help him chew the gel before swallowing. "Quick Dr Mathis, heal yourself. You're going into shock."

Jude half heard the command through his daze.

It was a struggle but Jude obeyed and immediately felt better. It wasn't his best spell but it had broken through the fog and dulled the razor edge of the pain. He carefully cast it one more time, this time focussing on his leg and hand to ease more of the pain and set the bones before they could splinter any more.

Jude lay there gasping, the shock wearing off even as he lay there shivering, mana once again spent. He carefully shielded Ludger again from the remaining pain.

"You dare intrude on our work?" Scott spat at Robin, but he wasn't really listening. He seemed to be really angry.

"You two idiots. He nearly went into shock. Your alliance with Braht depends on this brat being alive. If he dies then the deal is off."

Jude was vaguely aware of Scott spluttering about being talked to like that but was mostly hovering on a small pain filled cloud in his mind. So Robin wasn't helping him out of the goodness of his heart then, it was all for Braht's plan.

Made sense in a way.

Didn't help Jude out in the slightest.

"Hmm, I know what I am doing." Scott declared. "Give me the key to his chain."

"Why" Robin challenged.

"He has too much freedom of movement and tried to attack me, I intend to take that away from him."

Robin reluctantly handed the key over and Scott stalked back to Jude as he lay on his back not moving. His body was feeling too abused to even twitch his fingers. Scott grabbed his unbroken leg and released the manacle from the ankle. Before Jude could even celebrate his freedom he looped it over the chain between Jude's wrists and reattached it to his ankle before handing the key back to Robin.

Jude had gone from having five steps freedom of movement to barely being able to move.

He didn't like it one bit.

Scott grinned down at Jude evilly "You may leave now Robin, I believe he is stable."

With a hesitant backwards glance Robin obeyed and left the room.

Leaving Jude alone with Scott and Marcus.


	6. Chapter 6

The pain stopped as suddenly as it had started and Ludger was left panting on the bed as if he had run a few miles.

Erston, Rowen, Elle and Leia were all hovering over him, concern painted on their faces. Elle had tears brimming in her tired eyes.

"What time are Alvin, Elize and Teepo meant to get here?" Ludger asked as he lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Soon, an hour or two maybe." Leia replied.

"We should buy some gels and go to the station to meet them. I don't want to leave Jude there any longer then we have to." Erston supplied. Ludger regretted leaving him there at all. He should have argued and stayed with him. They might have been able to fight their way out if they were together.

The group around him nodded, clearly shaken up by what had happened. Ludger felt the same but he was infected by a blanket of depression. He needed to get Jude out before anything else happened to him.

Ludger had never experienced pain like that before and he dreaded to think what had happened to Jude. The severe pain that had been coursing through his left leg made Ludger certain that this was going to be a grab and run rescue mission rather than trying to fight their way through, there was no chance of Jude helping them now.

"Leia please could you stay here with Elle?" he asked.

"No! Not this time, I will fight."

"Please, Jude mentioned that they were after his friends. We clearly walked into a trap so it was likely Jolyne set us up."

Leia started to object again but Rowen stepped in. "Ludger is right miss Leia, we have no doubt of your fighting capability but if they manage to get to you while we are fighting then Jude will never forgive us."

"I want to help too." Elle interjected.

Rowen knelt down before her. "You can help Leia prepare a room for Jude for when we get him back. Elize can take away his pain but he is going to be weak for a while." Rowen smiled reassuringly, "Leia was once a nurse, you can learn a lot from her."

Elle looked up at Leia "You're a nurse? I thought you were a reporter?"

Leia smiled despite herself "It was before I moved to Elympios, I used to help Jude's parents at the clinic." She took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face. "Want to help me prepare a room for him?"

Ludger sat up and swung his legs to the side of the bed next to Elle. "You're gonna bring him back right?" she asked nervously. Ludger ruffled her head and gave her a smile filled with confidence he didn't really feel.

"Of course we will" Rowen provided.

Ludger nodded to her reassuringly before rising to his feet. If he was honest he wasn't feeling great. His throat was burning from screaming so much and his body had a constant dull ache from the muscles cramping as he had experienced a portion of Jude's suffering. But still he rose smoothly and tried to hide how uncomfortable he was.

With a nod at Leia he left the room and was aware of Erston and Rowen following him.

After cashing in some of the bounties that Ludger and Erston had accumulated the previous night they went to the item shop and stoked up on life bottles and gels using Ludger's newly replenished funds.

Predictably he got a nudge from Nova about debt repayment as they were on the way to the station and he impatiently sent over his remaining funds.

He didn't want another GHS call while they were sneaking around.

With no idea who he was waiting for Ludger went to the station with Rowen and Erston to wait for Alvin, Elize and Teepo. As he waited he could feel the occasional stab of pain from Jude that was quickly covered up. Each time he forced himself to suppress a flinch so as not to worry Rowen and Erston anymore. They all knew Jude was in trouble, they didn't need the added tension of being constantly reminded of his suffering.

Ludger was concerned however, Jude mentioned his hand had been broken yet Ludger had only felt pain in his back and leg.

If Jude was able to hide a broken hand what else had he hidden?

How severe were his injuries now that he couldn't hide them any longer?

To distract himself from his destructive thoughts Ludger tried to imagine who he was waiting for. Maybe three strong warriors? Teepo was a strange name, were they male or female? Jude had said Alvin was a good fighter and Elize an amazing healer but hadn't mentioned what Teepo could do.

Needless to say Ludger was surprised when Rowen waved over a handsome, smartly dressed businessman in his late twenties and a young girl in her school uniform holding a... stuffed toy?

Rowen was beaming as he introduced the businessman with a roguish smile as Alvin and the sweet looking schoolgirl as Elize. The doll rose from Elize's arms and introduced himself as Teepo and Ludger just stared at him.

He just stared at all three of them.

This group had saved the world? Two fifteen year olds, a young girl probably not even in her teens, an old man and a twenty something.

Alvin was looking like the most dependable of the group right now. But Elize?

Jude was being tortured and they had waited for a schoolgirl to come and help save him.

Who were these people?

He vaguely heard Alvin and Elize greet Rowen and "Erston. I'm just a man about town like any other. Please, call me Erston."

Suddenly Ludger realised he had been staring and he had been asked something. His name.

"I'm Ludger. We can talk on the way. Jude is in danger." With that he turned and started walking towards the back streets.

He was being rude but he didn't care, the stabbing pain was becoming more frequent and more severe.

After a pause he heard the sounds of the group following him.

As Rowen and Erston spoke to Alvin and Elize, Ludger focussed on finding Rowen's scratches to mark the way back. After a little while he felt a soft touch on his arm and looked down into Elize's bright green eyes, he estimated that she reached somewhere around his chest in height.

"You're limping" she commented. "If you have hurt yourself you will only make it worse. Would you like me to heal you."

He was limping? It was true that the pain in his leg had been gradually increasing but he hadn't noticed it had been affecting his walking.

"I'm fine thank you. I am not hurt."

"Liar. You will only slow us down if you are injured you know" came the response from the doll as he floated out of Elize's arms and around Ludger's head.

"I'm not lying. I'm not injured."

"Liar, Liar, Liar" Teepo repeated like a siren as he continued floating around Ludger's head until Alvin came over.

"What's going on?" he asked semi-jokingly.

"It's the big fat liar himself" Teepo continued. "Maybe you should make a club."

Ludger saw the small wince Alvin gave at the nickname before he hid it.

"Ludger is insisting he isn't injured but he keeps limping" Elize provided.

Alvin turned his gaze onto Ludger and Ludger avoided his gaze, walking resolutely forwards. "It's not me that's hurt" he muttered.

Alvin grabbed his arm and spun him round.

"What?" he hissed.

"It's not my pain" Ludger replied louder as he pulled himself free from the taller man's grip. "It's coming through the link. We just need to get there and save him and it will stop." Alvin went white at his words.

"You're still linked to him, even now?" Alvin stared at him wide eyed. "That must mean he used a Life Link."

"A Life Link?" Rowen interjected, his face alive with curiosity.

Alvin glanced at him and continued his explanation as they carried on walking. "Unlike a battle link where you share health and mana over short distances and Life Link is more binding. It enables communication to a certain degree and you can always find that person no matter where they are. Health and mana aren't linked but sensations are. Emotions are passed through as well as other sensations." Alvin looked sad. "Jude and I were experimenting with it when I saw him last, he thought it might have a connection to how people can communicate with syprites. I could eat a sandwich in a different room and he could tell me what was in it."

Alvin gave a sideways glance at Ludger "And when I stubbed my toe he started limping too."

Rowen looked intrigued "Interesting, I had wondered at the strange link between Ludger and Jude. I had never heard of a link being stretched over such a large distance. As well as the conversation they managed to hold when they were near each other."

"You spoke to him?" Alvin interrupted. There was a mix of relief and terror in his eyes. The two must be close despite the age difference. Much like Jude and himself he supposed.

"He said there was someone called Scott there. Said you might know him."

Alvin looked like he was going to be sick and hastened his steps until he passed Ludger. He would have run if he knew the way.

"Someone you know" asked Erston.

"Scott was a couple of years older than me, we grew up together on the Zenethra." Alvin spoke back over his shoulder at her. "He turned bitter as the years went by. I found him hurting some Rieze Maxian kids once or twice in some of the villages we passed through. Him and another guy called Marcus. He idolized Derrick, Jude's father, when he was younger. Didn't take him leaving very well." Alvin's face morphed into anger. "If Jude is with him then we can't leave him there. You should have got him out rather than wait for me."

"Jude told us not to." Ludger snapped back. "He said we wouldn't be able to get him out without help."

Alvin took a deep breath and looked aside. "I'm sorry Ludger, this must be hard on you. I know you haven't known each other long but Jude has a way of growing on you. I can't imagine how horrible it is to feel his pain and not be able to do anything."

Alvin's sudden retreat shocked Ludger who had been almost ready for a fight to relieve some of the stress. Instead he release a pent up breath of his own and coughed as the air caught in his throat. He tried to take another breath but it was agonising and it got caught part way again. Ludger bent over double as he desperately tried to take in air.

The skin around his throat was itching as it burned and Ludger frantically scratched at it as if it would allow him to breathe. As his vision started to go white he almost thought he could hear Jude's voice screaming his name before the sensation and the pressure disappeared.

Ludger began frantically gulped in air until he went slightly dizzy and forced himself to calm down.

Alvin was next to him with a hand on his elbow to steady him.

"What happened" he asked urgently.

"My throat, I couldn't breathe" Ludger gasped.

"Is Jude OK? Can you reach for him?"

Ludger tried, he desperately cast his senses out to try to reach Jude

But was no good

"The link.. it broke."

XXX xxx XXX

Jude lay on his side, eyes closed.

Water dripping from his nose and joining the tears and blood running down his face.

He had only blacked out for an instant but it was enough.

The link had been broken.

He didn't know if Ludger had heard his warning either.

Scott knew they were coming.

Braht had agents everywhere, they had overheard them talking about Alvin and Elize coming.

The group were walking into a trap and there was nothing Jude could do.

He should never have suggested waiting.

No, he had to stop blaming himself.

But it was no good.

They had even overheard them talking about the link, Jude shivered.

"Ah it seems you are awake demon. I thought I was going to have to throw another bucket of water over you. Since cold didn't work I was going to try hot next." Scott's voice came to him through his self-recriminations.

Jude didn't respond, depression was setting like a blanket over him.

"Hmm, maybe not awake then. This should get you up, you can't sleep when you still have work to do."

Jude's eyes shot open but it was too late, the scalding water hit him like a wave. He desperately raised his arms and protected his face from the worst of it.

It sank into his clothing and continued to burn him as it touched.

Jude whimpered and curled up as much as he could.

He longed to black out again.

If only so he didn't have to hear Scott's gloating anymore.

He heard footsteps before Scott grabbed him by the collar and pulled him upright.

"You know the easy way out of this demon. Create a spyrite for me to destroy Trigleph and I won't have to torture your friends in front of you."

Jude spat some of the blood in his mouth into Scott's face.

Jude inwardly cowered from the anger glistening in Scott's eyes.

The retaliating blow snapped his head to the side and the darkness crowded around him again.

Jude welcomed it with open arms.


	7. Chapter 7

The fear in Alvin's eyes was stark against his pale face and reflected the panic Ludger felt growing in his own.

At the same time Ludger was aware of how little he hurt, there had been so many niggling aches and pains for the past day and now they were gone Ludger realised how much he had been suffering. And that was only a fraction of what Jude was going through.

The group had stopped to stare at Ludger when the link broke but now Alvin let out a roar and started to run ahead. Elize and Rowen ran after him. Erston rested his had on Ludger's shoulder for half a second before walking ahead, waiting for Ludger to catch up.

Ludger took a deep breath, amazed at how easy it was, before joining the group running ahead with Erston keeping pace effortlessly. Now only suffering with a small ache in his legs from the run the previous day Ludger had no problem running through the streets, following Alvin, Elize and Rowen and set a distance eating gait as he ran.

Ludger estimated that they were within a few streets of the house when they were ambushed.

A gang of well armed men landed in front of the group, halting Alvin in his path, Ludger whirled around to see another group blocking the way they had come, trapping them in the narrow street.

They were surrounded

Ludger turned so he was shoulder to shoulder with Erston, facing down the group that had blocked the way they had come. He was aware of the rest of the group joining him until they formed a small circle.

"This area is under the jurisdiction of the Braht. State your business here." A voice called out from a nearby rooftop.

"You took something precious to us, we are here to take it back." Alvin ground out.

"Indeed" the faceless voice replied. "Sounds like a noble cause." A GHS rang in the background. "Please, excuse me one second"

"Don't mind us" Alvin replied sarcastically. Ludger could see Alvin's angry face in the corner of his eyes but didn't dare take his gaze off the people surrounding them.

The tension between the Braht and Jude's friends could be cut with a knife as they stood staring at each other waiting for the voice to finish his conversation over the GHS.

"My apologies for the delay" the voice had finished his call apparently. "The Voice of the Braht would like to speak to you regarding this precious item you have misplaced. You see we currently have possession of it and still have a need of it. If you would kindly come with us to our headquarters then we can discuss this in more detail somewhere quiet."

"And why should we trust you?" Alvin asked scathingly.

"Because as we said, we have something precious of yours."

A flash of white in the corner of his eye forced Ludger to turn his head just in time to see Jude's coat float from a rooftop, landing in the dirt at Alvin's feet. The once pristine white coat was now splattered with blood and mud. He heard the grinding sound of Alvin audibly gritting his teeth but the man didn't dare lower his head to grab it while the enemy was so close.

"We ask that you leave any weapons with our men and come quietly so that you can be reunited." The voice continued.

"Give us a minute to discuss this" Alvin demanded.

"As you wish" the voice replied.

Ludger felt Alvin link with him and instantly felt the anger running through his veins. It seemed as though Alvin was also capable of forming Life Links.

 _Ludger, how much danger is Jude in? Is it worth playing along with them to get nearer?_ Alvin's voice rang through his mind _._

Ludger shared his memory from the conversation with Jude.

_"They want me to do something for them. Something I won't do. They will hurt me but won't kill me. They will try to get at you to make me change my mind."_

He almost felt the anger tearing at Alvin's heart from the tiredness and pain in Jude's voice. The pair must be very close.

Alvin broke the link and looked up in the direction of the voice. "We have no interest in going with you. Bring my friend back to me and if he isn't too badly hurt I shall consider not destroying your entire gang."

There was a short laugh from the rooftop. "Then we shall drag you before the Voice and if he is merciful then you can join friend in his confinement."

The gang surrounding the group suddenly drew spyrix weapons and started advancing on the group. Erston stepped forward and drew his gigantic sword. "If you will not cooperate them we shall cut a path through you." he spoke calmly. Untroubled by the numerous enemies surrounding them.

Ludger drew his sledgehammer and tried to share in the confidence Erston was emitting. He was aware of the others drawing their weapons around him as well.

"Frozen Flash" he head Elize call out from behind him and a quick glance showed some of the enemies near her start to petrify, this was quickly followed up by a "Teepo Quake" and Ludger watched amazed as even more enemies succumbed to petrification. Snapping himself out of amazement he readied his hammer and defended himself from bullets from above, there were enemies on the rooftops. He saw Rowen, surprisingly agile start to bring down the assailants using his daggers. Ludger hadn't even attacked anyone yet and half of the ambush force was down. He saw a Braht member sneaking towards Alvin with a knife in his hands and intercepted him with a harsh swing to the ribs. The enemy flew, landing heavily on his back and didn't move.

The fight continued until the area was covered in the petrified, unconscious or groaning bodies of their would-be attackers.

It didn't take long.

"I'm suitably impressed" The voice called out. "I apologise for underestimating you. I wonder what the dear Doctor Mathis would have been capable of if he hadn't been defending someone." Ludger flinched, the skill level of Alvin and rest of the group left him wondering the same thing. "Tell me, is your reporter friend is as strong as you are? I suppose we will be finding out soon enough."

"You stay away from her" Alvin roared. "You won't have time to worry about finding her, we are going to rip your base apart and get Jude out of there."

"Find her? I already know where she is." Amusement was dripping from the voice. "I wouldn't assume that getting your precious friend out will be so easy either. Dragging his broken body with you will surly slow you down. Scott never did know when to stop. I only came to play with you because the screams were giving me a headache"

"Marcus?" Alvin's eyes went wide. "You bastard! I thought I recognised your voice. What the hell have you done to him?"

"I have enjoyed our chat Alfred, it almost felt like old times. But I'm afraid I must be off. This should have bought enough time to grab that Rieze Maxian bitch you are so fond of. Tell me Alfred, when we strip the skin from her bones, who will break first. You or the doctor? My money is on you."

Alvin roared and started to scale the nearby building but it was no good.

Marcus was long gone.

XXX xxx XXX

There was a knock at the door and Leia looked up from the bed she had been preparing. They couldn't be back already. She glanced at Elle who was humming to herself as she folded some spare towels in the corner before edging towards the door.

There was another knock.

This time Elle looked up and went to answer it but Leia gestured for her to stay back.

"Hide under the bed with Rollo, Elle. Don't come out until I say so."

She opened her mouth to argue but there was another knock, louder this time and fear outweighed her confidence. Leia carefully drew her staff and checked the space around her before calling out. "Who is it? I'm trying to get some sleep here?"

"My apologies. I'm looking for the reporter Leia Rolando? a muffled voice called out. Leia's heart skipped. Why would someone be looking for her. Was this related to Jude disappearing? Did they see her as an easy target?

Fools.

"I'm afraid you have wrong room."

Window crashed open behind her. "Do we now?" came a chilling voice.

Leia turned to face the intruder from the window as the door burst open behind her, a quick glance showed two men running into the room, weapons ready.

Only three?

Leia smirked.

XXX xxx XXX

"Damn, how could we be so foolish as to leave her behind?" Alvin demanded.

"Miss Leia is strong." Rowen interjected in his calm voice. "If you are concerned I will go back and check on her. If Jude is as injured as they are implying we may need her with us as well."

"I should go, I've not been much use here." Ludger offered.

"On the contrary, you are a strong warrior Ludger, I'm sure your versatile skills will be of more use here. It will also prove Jude with some comfort to see you safe." Rowen turned to Erston. "If you will excuse me your highness?" Erston gave one single nod as confirmation and Rowen darted off.

Ludger watched him go with a heavy heart. Marcus was right, this is all because Jude protected Ludger in the first place. Slowly he walked over to where Jude's coat had been left in the dirt of the road and picked it up, aware of Erston, Elize and Alvin watching him he dusted it off, folded it up and put it in his pocket. His hands brushed Jude's gauntlets at his back as he did so.

Ludger bowed his head in guilt.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder "Don't look so down," Alvin advised him. "We will get him back, don't you worry." Anger was still showing in the lines around Alvin's eyes but it seemed like it wasn't ruling him any longer. Ludger marvelled at the man's self restraint, especially since Marcus had hinted at Alvin and Leia being an item.

Taking a deep breath Ludger pulled himself together and shelved his doubts. "We aren't far now but there could be another ambush between here and there. I don't know how many agents Braht and Exodus have."

"There aren't many left of Exodus" Alvin offered. "Between twenty to fifty in total, we took out most of them when we took out their base a year ago. Although it is possible they have recruited more." Ludger nodded. Twenty still sounded like a lot to him. He really didn't have the same level of battle experience as this group. Even Elize had taken down most of their assailants. "It will probably come down to how much support the Braht are providing to them and why they are working together."

Ludger nodded again and led the group onwards and they made it to the suspected location of the base without being attacked again. Had they been underestimated? Or was this another trap?

Ludger and Alvin took turns in peering around the corner at the square which still had people casually sitting around. It would look innocuous if they weren't the same exact people who had been there the day before.

"What is the plan?" Erston asked calmly. Despite the circumstances he really did look like a normal person about town, he seemed utterly unfazed by the dire nature of their mission.

"Ludger and Gaius if you go ahead Elize and I will support you from the rear as we both have long range attacks. We can also make sure we don't cut off. We want to get Jude and get out."

Ludger and Erston nodded, readied their weapons and stormed into the square. Unwilling to kill if not necessary Ludger elected to use his hammer again. The Physic Restoration was also a handy thing to have if they were going to be outnumbered. Erston had no such restraint and readied his impressive sword once again.

Surprise was on their side, they managed to take down four guards before the others were even alarmed. Once they were spotted they were engaged by five people each with more coming out of the door towards them. A Negative Gate from Elize halted the reinforcements in their tracks as the darkness attacked them. Ludger soon realised that his hammer was too slow for how outnumbered he was and switched to his blades but was careful to avoid life threatening injuries. Ludger lost himself slightly in the fight and wasn't aware they had cleared the square until suddenly he didn't have anyone attacking him. With a small smile Ludger glanced at Erston and saw he too was finished.

Now was just working out which door they had to use to get to Jude. There were around five to pick from. Should they separate or pick one and fight their way through?

"Most of the bad guys came from the door in the corner" Teepo supplied.

Ludger nodded his thanks and after exchanging a look with Erston made his way over to the door.

The explosion threw them both off their feet and back into the middle of the square

Ludger's ears were ringing and he couldn't move. His skin was on fire.

He gasped for breath but the air itself was burning.

He tried to open his eyes but all he could see was red through them and he shut them again.

Darkness fell upon him.

XXX xxx XXX

Leia heard a large boom in the distance and looked up from the man she was restraining.

Elle had come out from under the bed and was standing by the window, she looked around at Leia her eyes wide "That's from where Ludger went." Tears started to fill her bright green eyes. "Is Ludger going to be okay?"

Leia nodded with a confidence she didn't feel.

"I'm sure he is fine. The guys are all super strong, they will get Jude back. I'm sure of it."

She smiled positively at Elle and tried to bury her own fears deep inside.

XXX xxx XXX

Forced onto his knees with his hands bound firmly behind him, Jude felt the tears run down his face as he saw Ludger and Gaius get thrown back as the fire lit up the square. He couldn't even scream a warning at them, his throat was too damaged to do much more than croak pathetically. He tried to hide his head so he didn't have to watch but Scott held his head upright by the hair, forcing him to watch the damage done to his friends.

Jude wasn't even in the Braht building anymore, Scott had moved him when Marcus had left to ambush Ludger and the others.

He could only watch helpless as Gaius struggled over to the prone form of Ludger and began to desperately beat out the flames covering the young man's body. While Alvin helped Elize recover so she could heal them.

A sob struggled through Jude's throat. This was all his fault. He should have fought back while he still could.

"Yes, little Demon weep." Scott hissed in his ear. "Weep like the child you are. I warned you what would happen if you didn't obey me. Now you get to watch the consequences of your actions."

Like a drowning man reaching up for the surface, Jude reached out and linked with Alvin.

It was weak but enough, Alvin's head suddenly shot up and he stared straight at where Jude was being held on a nearby rooftop.

The warmth of Alvin's mind brought comfort to Jude and he felt himself growing stronger slightly as it grounded him.

He wasn't alone.

A small smile played on his face as he felt the warm comfort of Alvin's mind connected with his. The loss of tension must have shown in his posture as Scott swore and kicked Jude's broken leg.

Jude gave a horse scream and his concentration shattered. The link was broken and now Jude was left alone with the pain filled fuzziness of his own mind.

He saw Alvin collapse to the ground next to Elize as the pain shook through him before the link broke.

But it was enough, Alvin now knew he wasn't in the building and wouldn't have to risk any more traps to find the empty room Jude had been in.

Now he just had a whole town to search instead.


	8. Chapter 8

Alvin helped Elize stagger to her feet. Thankfully she wasn't seriously hurt, she had just been knocked off of her feet from the heatwave. She gave him a concerned glance but he shook his head and pointed at Ludger's prone form. She nodded and ran over to him. Alvin stayed where he was staring at the rooftop where Jude had been.

They were so close.

So very close.

But there was no way he could leave Ludger, Gaius and Elize there to fend for themselves and run off after Jude himself. Scott was a very dangerous man, he would probably just force Alvin to surrender himself to save Jude and where would that leave them.

But the pain Jude had been in, Alvin had never felt anything like it.

Helpless he looked over to where Elize was frantically healing Ludger of the worst of his burns, the silver haired boy didn't seem to be moving yet though. Gaius was stalking around the area, studiously ignorning his injuries to check there was no other ambush prepared for them.

Alvin felt his GHS ring in his pocket and answered it numbly.

"Alvin? Alvin its Leia."

Leia, why was she ringing. Wait. She had been in danger. The shock of what happened had completely driven it from his mind. He felt terrible as he answered her. "Leia, are you safe? They are sending someone after you."

"It's okay, I took care of them. Rowen just got here and told me what happened on the way. Did you find him?"

Alvin took a deep breath. "Scott rigged the place. It exploded when Gaius and Ludger got near." He heard her gasp through the phone and closed his eyes. "Jude managed to link with me for half a minute before Scott broke it. He is alive but we don't know where he is."

Alvin saw Ludger start to move in the corner of his eye. The boy was alive but was in bad shape, he wouldn't be recovering from this quickly. Elize sat back on her heels, swaying with exhaustion.

Gaius had walked back to Ludger's side and with great care picked him up in his arms to carry him. "It would be wise to retreat." he suggested.

"We are heading back, Elize could only do so much and Ludger is still burned so you will need to prepare some water and bandages for him and Gaius." Alvin told Leia.

"Okay, I'll prepare the room." She replied softly. Alvin slowly put his GHS back in his pocket before walking over to help Elize. With a last regretful glance at the rooftop where Jude had been Alvin slowly helped Elize up and followed Gaius as they made their way back to the inn.

XXX xxx XXX

Scott watched them leave.

The brat had passed out again but he left him alone for a minute as he watched the girl try and heal the silver haired boy. A sneer played on his lips as he watched Alfred glance longingly at the rooftop before turning his back.

"They are leaving without you, you know." He looked down at the broken body at his feet and scowled as he remembered the demon was unconscious.

Blood was smeared across his pale face, running down to his bruised throat. The thin top covering him was tattered and torn, barely hiding the deep scours criss-crossing his back and sides. Blood was seeping from where the metal bindings were cutting into his wrists and one of his hands was purple and swollen from being repeatedly broken. The broken leg was at an awkward angle to the rest of him, still confined by the splint.

Scott smiled down at him, a manic gleam in his eye.

"You know demon. I think it's time we paid a visit to the people who spawned you. Let them see what their unholy joining had bought upon the world. Then I can purify the lot of you together. Although I may get you traitorous father to beg on his knees for forgiveness fist." Scott gave a little giggle to himself at the thought and looked down to see the demon's reaction to his words.

But no, he was still not awake.

Angered Scott grabbed the broken hand and squeezed until the brat awoke with a small whimper, his bloodshot eyes wide in pain.

"Time to leave demon. We are going to travel for a while." He hauled him to his feet by the upper arm, leaving more bruises with his tight grip and started to drag him towards the stairs.

Slowly the pair left the rooftop to meet with more Exodus members so they could plan the journey.

Hidden, Robin watched them go, the flames from the hideout reflecting in his eyes.

XXX xxx XXX

Rowen met them near the inn and helped Alvin support Elize inside. Gaius still had a firm hold of Ludger the whole way and seemed reluctant to relinquish him to anyone. Slowly the group stumbled into the inn and were met by a frantic Leia. She guided them towards a room, opposite the one they had been occupying beforehand, Alvin wondered what state that room was in now if Leia had been fighting in there. Elle was waiting for them and she burst into tears as she saw Gaius bringing Ludger in. Damn, he should have thought before letting her see him like this.

Leia took charge of the situation and instructed Gaius to place Ludger one one bed while Alvin and Rowen guided an exhausted Elize to another. She tried to get Gaius to lie down on the last one as well but he was having none of it and instead chose a corner to stand in with his arms crossed as he watched the room. Elle collapsed to her knees at Ludger's bedside and refused to move from his side. Leia gave Ludger a quick check to see if his life was in immediate danger before moving on to check the others.

No doubt Ludger would take all of her attention and mana soon enough, she would check the others for any injuries.

Leia checked on Elize and diagnosed her with exhaustion and mild burns, recommending bed rest until she felt better. Elize protested but was asleep within seconds; the early train, fighting with Exodus and her frantic attempts to heal Ludger had taken a large toll on her. Alvin had to remind himself that she was only thirteen after all.

Alvin must have zoned out because the next thing he knew Leia's cool hand was resting on his cheek. "You have a mild burn, it should heal in the next couple of days without too much help." He covered her hand with his as it rested on his cheek and felt the familiar callouses.

It soothed him.

He gazed into her eyes and saw the question there. "We didn't get him back. Scott had moved him before we even got there. Ludger, Gaius and Elize were in a bad way, I can't take Scott on alone if he has a hostage." Despite himself tears stung his eyes as he admitted his failure "I'm sorry Leia".

A finger ran under his eyes as Leia wiped away a stray tear. She gave a small smile before withdrawing from him and turning to see Gaius.

"I'm fine" he said stoically as she approached.

"Then show me your hands."

Alvin felt some amusement for a second as the King and the innkeepers daughter locked stares. Leia looked just like her mother when she was being stubborn. Gaius must have seen some of that terrifying woman as well as he reluctantly held out his hands for her to see.

They were a mess. The skin was peeling off in places and the rest was a mass of red and black.

He had carried Ludger like this?

"Rowen" Leia called. He was by her side instantly. "I will be leaving Gaius in your care until Elize wakes up. I need you to cast Splash on these wounds and keep them cold. I can't wrap them until they have cooled and the worst is over. When they no longer feel hot to touch cast Healing Etude at small intervals interspersed with Splash until the skin is no longer black. If Elize wakes up she will be able to do more." Leia looked up at Gaius seriously. "General Spirit Artes can only do so much, without a doctor to examine them there is a good chance of scarring. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No, my coat protected me from most of the flames, Ludger was ahead of me and shielded me from a lot of the blast." Interesting, it had all happened so fast that Alvin didn't have time to think about how Gaius got off so much lighter than Ludger, but that might explain it. And why Gaius was being so protective of him.

Leia turned away from him and went back to Ludger's bedside. "I will be working on Ludger and doing what I can for him. Please don't distract me. Alvin, the people who attacked me are still next door, I'll leave them to you." There was a hardness in her eyes mixed in with the fear and worry.

He hadn't seen that look since Hamil when she was protecting Jude from him.

He didn't tell her they had linked or the pain he had felt at that time. In truth he didn't know how Ludger managed to stay linked for a day. He knew that Ludger had been overwhelmed at points, but just how much had both Jude and Ludger been holding back and trying not to show?

He gave a slow nod and stepped out of the room. He was grateful that she had given him something to do, he wasn't very good at sitting and waiting for people to get better.

It brought about painful memories of his mother.

As he entered the room he was two of the assailants were still unconscious with bruises growing across their faces, the third was trying to untie his hands using his teeth but froze as Alvin entered the room.

"Alfred" he whispered. "You gotta get me out of here. The bitch we were sent after is crazy. She took all of us down in seconds."

Alvin didn't respond and instead knelt down in front of him and grabbed his bounds hands. "Thank you, thank you" the man frantically whispered.

Alvin didn't look at him, didn't want to acknowledge him as someone he once worked beside. Instead he broke one of the man's fingers and covered his mouth as a howl of pain escaped. he didn't want to disturb Leia in her work.

"One of my friends was taken by Scott, they have left the Braht hideout. You are going to tell me where they might have gone." He removed his hand from the man's mouth.

"Alfred, please" Alvin covered his mouth and broke another finger.

"The friend had quite a few of his bones broken by Scott you know. I wonder how many of yours I need to break before you talk. You can last longer than a sixteen year old boy right?" The man's eyes went wide in fear and guilt and Alvin knew he was getting somewhere. "If you got the girl, where were you going to take her?"

"The Braht headquarters" he replied quickly.

Alvin broke another finger. "Braht headquarters is gone, where were you going to take her?" The man's eyes went wide and Alvin knew the loss of the base was news to him.

"Gone? But Marcus was going to meet us and take us back there. I swear it."

"Where were you going to meet Marcus?"

"He was going to meet us here to help is carry the girl. He will know we weren't successful then he will be long gone by now."

"Exodus must have another hideout in town, I doubt you were with Braht the whole time."

No, we had our base with them, we haven't been in this town long, we moved in to capture the boy just after the train crash last week. If Scott or Marcus had a spare then they never told the rest of us where it was." Alvin went to grab another finger. "No please, if you go to the house you will see that I have been telling the truth, Braht gave Exodus some space in the basement until we were able to get our own space."

"As I said the house is gone. Scott blew it up."

The man went white. "Then you may as well kill me now. If any of Braht survived then they will hunt us down."

Alvin changed tack. "Why did you want Jude anyway?"

"I don't know, I was never told." Alvin reached for his hand again. "No wait, please. It was originally something to do with spyrites, they gathered the materials that your uncle used to create Celsius and put them in the room with him."

"Originally?"

"Scott blames him for the fall of Exodus, he knows he is Derrick Mathis' son and wanted to punish him for his father leaving us. That's why we were coming for the girl. He was going to hurt her as a way to hurt him." The man stared imploringly into Alvin's and with a start Alvin remembered the man's name. Jeremy.

"Scott is twisted Alfred, I stayed in Exodus because they were family, but Scott has turned it into something evil. I was part of the group that took the boy and for that I am sorry. If you find him, please tell him I said that. I know it won't mean much now, but it was never meant to end up like this."

The man was broken, and it only took three fingers.

Scott clearly wasn't inspiring much loyalty. Maybe taking and hurting a teenager had pushed some over the edge.

"I'll take you to the base and you will help me look through the wreckage for a clue to where they might have gone. If I find proof that you are felling the truth I will let you go."

"And the others?"

"Well they will be staying here, If you are lying to me I'll be asking them next." Alvin replied with a menacing grin.

The man seemed to get the implied threat as he promptly shut his mouth. Alvin pulled him to his feet by his bound hands before reading his gun. "Walk" Alvin ordered, gesturing with his weapon.

On the way past he told Jeremy to wait and poked his head through the door to tell Rowen what he was doing, the old man looked disapproving but nodded anyway.

Leia didn't even glance his was as she worked to heal Ludger.

XXX

The walk to the hideout didn't feel any shorter the second time around, if anything the tension between the two men made it seem longer. They could smell the burning long before they reached the wreckage of the house. Surprisingly there weren't a lot of flames.

As they approached the wreckage they saw a man standing in front of the ruins of the building.

"Robin" Jeremy breathed. And shrank back against Alvin.

The man turned around at his name.

Alvin could see the raw anger and grief in his eyes.

"I know where Scott took your friend"

The voice reflected none of the emotions that his eyes did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea... I have no decent excuse for not posting this, the story has already been completed and everything. 
> 
> On the other hand I have changed jobs twice and got married, so I am fully going to use that as an excuse.  
> Now I have regained my weekends I will try and finish posting this with one chapter a week while working on The Law which is my One Piece work that has been a very neglected.


	9. Chapter 9

There was an awkward silence as the group stared at Alvin and the man he had brought with him.

Jeremy was gone, Alvin had no desire to drag him around with them, let him go hide under a rock somewhere and prey the Braht didn't find him. The other two captives had also escaped while he had been out but Alvin wasn't too concerned.

He was focussed on the man next to him.

He was a heavyset man wearing a garish yellow top. Alvin had been watching him carefully during the walk back and had seen the small splatters of blood dotted around the man.

Were they Jude's?

Ludger was asleep but in a stable state. He looked a mess even with all of Leia's hard work. even now she was sitting by his bedside in case he needed anything. Thankfully Ludger had raised his arms to protect his face from the worst of the blast but the skin was peeling off of them although they were no longer charred black.

Leia had done an amazing job.

But in truth they needed Jude's expertise to heal them any further, as much as he had turned his mind to research in the past year he was still a doctor.

Elize had woken up but was still lying on the bed in an exhausted state. Rowen was hovering protectively near her with a stoic Gaius in the background.

The man, Robin he had introduced himself as, took a deep breath before speaking.

"Good afternoon."

He received frosty silence in reply but carried on regardless.

"My name is Robin, I am a member of Braht and I am one of the people who attacked and took your doctor and that boy yesterday."

That got a stronger reaction. Gaius stood straight from where had been slouched slightly and rested his hand on his sword. Leia gripped her staff, Alvin didn't know where she even hid it in the first place. Alvin folded his arms casually and held his gun loosely.

If this guy tried something Alvin probably wouldn't even have a chance to draw it before Leia and Gaius got to him anyway.

"Why?"

The question was so quiet that everyone looked around to see where it had come from.

Ludger cleared his throat, embarrassed slightly at the attention before speaking again.

"Why were you after him? You struck him and called him an otherworld sympathiser. Yet you didn't let them kill me."

Robin locked gazed with Ludger for a second before looking away.

"It was a suggestion from Scott, a way to expand our influence. We were going to get him to build us two spyrites, one out of control to unleash it on Trigleph, no one would trust spyrites anymore. Then Jude would make another, a safer one and we would use it to save what was left of the city and Braht and Exodus would rise as the spyrite experts of the world."

Robin saw the faces around the room grow pale at the thought and he himself wondered how Braht had agreed so such a plan, they had been completely sucked in to Scott's plan. "Scott mentioned making it look like Rieze Maxia had sent the first one and using it as an excuse to declare war and eradicate them once and for all. Duval lost a lot of people during the fight a year ago so Braht approved of the plan."

Robin sighed, his exhaustion was catching up with him, and looked around. All eyes were on him with in varying degrees of horror.

"Taking Dr Mathis was Scott's suggestion, although we had no idea how we were going to get a hold of him. He rarely left Helioborg, and never without someone near him. We heard through an outside source that he was involved in the train hijacking and had been seen about Duval in the company of a silver haired boy and a little girl. We saw it as our chance. We knew one of his companions from Rezie Maxia was now a reporter so went sent Jolyne out as bait and waited to her to confirm the meeting." Robin glanced at Ludger then looked away again slightly guiltily. Alvin was curious who this outside source was but didn't dare interrupt. It was something that could be dealt with later.

"It was meant to just be me and a couple of others but Scott insisted on sending Marcus along. The plan was to take Dr Mathis and his companions with us and talk to him, maybe rough him and the silver haired boy up a bit if he didn't agree. But after Marcus pulled out a gun on the doctor and then tried to shoot your friend there I knew there was something else going on. My suspicion was confirmed when we took the doctor back to the base. Scott was gloating over having him, it was almost as if the plan was forgotten. All he wanted was the boy at his mercy. It was sickening to watch." Alvin frowned. Sickening, to watch perhaps, but he had done nothing to stop it.

"So what changed?" Alvin asked after Robin had gone silent. "You are here telling us all this and your base had been blown apart so obviously something happened."

"After they broke his hand I gave him an apple gel to help it heal. He wouldn't be any help to us if he couldn't work properly after all. They used it as an excuse to re-break it then shattered the bone in his leg."

Ludger went pale under his burns. "I heard his screams and ran in to find them watching him go into shock. I reset his bones and somehow managed to get him to heal himself before we lost him but they didn't care. Instead they sent me out of the room and carried on." Robin looked as sick as Alvin felt. Even a criminal such as Robin was disgusted by the torture of a teenage boy then. For there was no doubt that was what Scott and Marcus had been inflicting on Jude.

"I spoke to the Voice and told him my concerns, he brushed them aside and I returned to my post. A few hours later an informant ran in asking for Scott. They said something about a link between the doctor and your silver haired friend there as well as reinforcements coming. I heard Scott order Marcus to buy some time a short while later Scott dragged the doctor from the room and told me to gather people in the square because you lot were coming. I ignored him and instead followed at a discreet distance." Robin closed his eyes briefly. "I was on a nearby rooftop when the building exploded. Scott was laughing as he made Dr Mathis watch." Robin went grey as he remembered the loss of his home and his comrades, no doubt many of them had been lost in the explosion.

Soft sobs could be heard coming from Elize as he buried her head in her pillow. Rowen rubbed her back soothingly looking a little sick himself.

Alvin found it interesting that the whole time Robin had been referring to Jude quite formally, maybe it was how he set aside his feelings for the dirtier work.

"You said you knew where he had taken Jude." Alvin reminded the man.

Robin stirred himself from his memories. "He was crazed and said something about showing the doctor to his traitor father."

"Leronde" Leia piped up. "He must be going to Leronde."

"Is that in Rieze Maxia?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, on a small island, its where Jude and I grew up, his dad still lives there."

"He won't be able to get there easily, he will need to use quiet ways to get Jude there without drawing too much attention to himself. We can definitely get there before him." Alvin offered hopefully.

"But that would mean leaving Jude with Scott in the meantime" Ludger pointed out, worry in his voice.

"We don't know where they are," Alvin countered. "It would take weeks to check the whole town and by that time they would be in Leronde. For now we must hope that Scott will leave him alive in order to torment Derrick."

It wasn't much of a hope.

"You had best leave now then," Ludger offered dully.

"You need to heal and rest, we can set off in the morning." Leia told him.

"I can't go, I'm under a debt and can only enter certain cities, I haven't paid anywhere near enough to leave Elympios yet. I only just received permission to enter Marksberg." Ludger brought their plan back down with a harsh bump. "You should go tomorrow, I'll make my way back to Trigleph and wait for you there."

"We can't leave you here alone, if there are any Braht or Exodus left they might go after you in retaliation for the hideout."

"He won't be alone. I shall stay with him" Gaius supplied. Ludger looked over in surprise at the king.

"Well that's sorted then." Alvin announced, eager to have a plan. "What about you Elize, do you want to stay or come."

"I'll come." she offered softly.

"We owe Jude for helping us so much last year. We want to help him now." Teepo elaborated.

"What about me, aren't you going to kill me?" Robin asked seriously.

Gaius walked over to the man, slowly drawing his sword as he went. Alvin was surprised he could even hold it in his wounded hands.

Calmly Gaius rested the sword on Robin's shoulders.

Robin steeled himself and closed his eyes.

Then opened them as nothing happened.

He stared surprised into Gaius' commanding gaze.

"We're not the monsters you think we are." Gaius stated before sheathing his sword again and walking past the shaking man. "I'm going to go and get some more gels from the shop for the journey."

Robin stood staring at the ground for a moment before looking around at the group. Hesitantly he started making his way towards the door, when no one stopped him he walked over and put his hand on the handle.

"Robin?"

Cautious, he looked up into the eyes of the young girl who had been nursing the silver haired boy. "Thank you for not letting Jude die in there and for letting us know where we can find him." He blinked surprised, he hadn't expected to be thanked, he only wanted to stop Scott getting his own way. "I'm sorry about your home."

She sounded so sincere.

He nodded gruffly, avoiding her gaze before letting himself out.

They were a strange bunch these Rieze Maxian's.

Maybe peace was possible after all.

XXX

The next morning the group were well rested and ready to be on their way, although Alvin could tell Ludger was trying to hide how upset he was that he couldn't go with them to save Jude. The young man must be feeling really guilty for not stopping Jude being taken in the first place. Tempting though it was Alvin refused to let himself blame Ludger, they had no way of knowing how far it was going to go.

The boy in question was now walking slowly beside Gaius and Alvin was amused to see the two of them together, they looked so different yet the kept a simple companionable silence with each other. Elle was hovering near Ludger, desperate not to let him out of her sight after the events of the previous two days.

Slowly they made their way up to the station as a group. There was no need to rush, there wasn't a boat from Marksberg to Aladhi Seahaven until the evening, then they had to wait till the following morning for a ship to Leronde.

As they neared the station Ludger's GHS rang. Sighing he gingerly pulled it out of his pocket, wincing as his still healing hands brushed the fabric. "Ludger, Nova here. Great news. due to your recent payment you can now access all of Rieze Maxia. I don't know how you managed to pay so much at once. Did you have a secret savings account or something? You really shouldn't hold out on us you know. Anyway got to scoot. Enjoy your travels."

Ludger looked at his GHS stunned. What did she mean payment, the only one he did was the morning of the previous day when he cashed in the jobs he completed with Gaius. That was nowhere near enough to release him to travel all of Rieze Maxia.

Bewildered he pulled out his tracker and saw that two million of his debt had disappeared.

Two million?

How was that possible?

Ludger glanced around the crowd and thought he caught a glimpse of the yellow top from the man the day before. Robin?

Had he paid towards the debt?

"Erm, guys" Ludger called hesitantly. "Some of my debt has been paid and I'm free to travel to Rieze Maxia with you."

"That's mighty convenient" Alvin responded. "Where were you hiding the cash for that one?"

"I wasn't" Ludger met Alvin's stare squarely and he saw the older man eyes widen in confusion then narrow in understanding. He most likely suspected Robin as well. "It would probably be best if I still go to Trigleph however. If there is a fight I won't be much help to you all."

"Nonsense" Leia interrupted. "When we get Jude back he will want to see that you are safe. Besides Jude's dad is one of the best doctors on Rieze Maxia, he is even famous on Elympios."

"Jude is related to THE Dr Mathis? I thought it was just coincidence in name." Ludger was shocked, the man was a legend in Trigleph. His brother had mentioned meeting with him once when he was a child.

"No, Derrick Mathis, the famous spyrix doctor is Jude's father." Alvin confirmed. "He was on the Zenethra with us when we got stranded twenty years ago. He fell in love with a woman from Rieze Maxia and he settled down. Jude was born soon afterwards. Derrick leaving was one of the things that pushed Scott over the edge."

"You are in Exodus Alvin?" Ludger asked hesitantly.

"Was. Young Jude changed my way of thinking. Now I'm one of the good guys."

"If you say so" Leia countered with a cheeky grin.

Ludger saw Alvin's eyes flick to one of Leia's shoulders before he brought them back to her face and grinned. "What about you Gaius? You coming with us to Leronde?"

"I'm afraid I must pass on this occasion, Rowen and I have business in Elympios. I have responsibilities to attend to here."

"I thought you were just sightseeing?" Elle asked innocently.

"I was, however the events in Duval need to be looked into. Despite the commotion we raised yesterday there has been no sign of any soldiers or law enforcement in the town. I must know if all of Elympios is like this.

Ludger nodded but inside was a little worried. Erston and Rowen were strong, they would have been a great help against Scott.

But they had responsibilities to take care of. It wouldn't be fair to drag them any further into this fight.

Ludger also hadn't missed the new scarring covering Erston's hands, no matter how well he tried to hide it.

Hesitantly Ludger extended his hand towards Erston. The older man gave one of his small rare smiles and took it. Slowly the two shared a handshake, no words were needed between them, Ludger was sure they would see each other again. He offered his hand to Rowen as well who took it with one of his characteristic smiles. The others gave a small wave goodbye before entering the station, although Elize did run back to give Rowen a quick hug before joining them.

Ludger let Alvin sort out the tickets and let his mind wander. Everything had happened so fast. He hadn't really had time to process it, now he was on a journey with people he barely knew to rescue a friend he had only known a week or so.

Ludger had never had a group of friends before and although they were brought together for something so horrific, Ludger kind of felt like he belonged.

They had a plan and knew where Jude was being taken to.

They could finally but an end to this once and for all.

With hope in his heart Ludger followed the others and boarded the train to Marksberg.

XXX xxx XXX

Jude's body was a mass of pain.

His breath was bubbling as it left his chest and sought a way through his abused throat. He was struggling to open his eyes through the swelling on his face. He was glad he was sitting down, he didn't think he would be able to stand through the swaying of the boat otherwise.

Home.

He was going home.

He hadn't spoken to his father for over a year and now he was going to be dragged in front of him like some sort of dog.

Blearily Jude looked up at his hands. They had been bound together again and were chained to the wall above him. The wrap around his broken hand had come loose and he could see the discoloured skin. He dared not even look at his leg stretched out in front of him. Looking at it brought his attention back to it and it made him want to throw up.

If he didn't get it looked at he wouldn't be walking again any time soon.

His torn back was pressed against the wall, no doubt his wounds were getting infected as they were opened anew every time the ship ploughed through a wave.

Jude head the door rattle and tried without success to stop himself from flinching as Scott sauntered into the room, letting a dazzling amount of light into the pitch black room.

The man crouched down in front of Jude and he tried to focus his gaze on him.

"Good morning young demon. Are you feeling well this morning?"

Jude had learned that silence wasn't a good answer to Scott's questions and so forced a small grunt out. The animalistic sound seemed to please the man.

Was it morning?

Jude had no way of knowing, stuck as he was in the dark hold. Since Jude had been dragged from the rooftop after seeing Ludger burning alive (don't think of it, don't think of it) Scott had said "good morning" to him three times, not including this 'morning'.

Had it really been four days or was Scott messing with him?

His stomach definitely knew it had been a while. He hadn't eaten since the loaf of bread Robin had given to him in the cell. He didn't think he would be able to eat anything if it was put in front of him anyway. His doctors knowledge was prescribing himself with water and broth until his throat had healed and his body had got used to eating again.

Scott had carried on talking while Jude had been distracted and it looked like he had asked another question as he was looking at him with impatience. Jude quickly forced another grunt out and that seemed to satisfy Scott to some degree.

Scott held up a dish of water that Jude hadn't noticed previously. The burning in his throat increased as he looked at the inviting liquid. He looked up at his wrists waiting for Scott to untie him so he could drink, but Scott only smirked and held the bowl to Jude's lips.

Jude's lips twisted slightly as he understood what Scott was implying. He wanted Jude to lap at the bowl as if he were a pet.

Jude's pride rebelled against him but his thirst won out. Hesitantly he lowered his aching head and sipped at the offered bowl. Scott was surprisingly gentle as he tipped the bowl to help him drink. Jude swallowed slowly and carefully, his throat rebelling to the movement but his desperate thirst was all-consuming. All too soon the bowl was empty and Scott withdrew it, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"There's a good boy." Scott stood and slowly walked back towards the door. Jude closed his eyes in relief, it looked like he had escaped unscathed today. "We will be arriving in Leronde soon. I hope you are equally well behaved when we arrive, then maybe I'll keep you alive after destroying your family after all." Jude's eyes cracked open again and he watched Scott leave in silence.

As the door swung shut and the light disappeared from the room.

The blackness of depression closed it's loving arms around him.


	10. Chapter 10

Ludger was surprised at how green Rieze Maxia was. There were trees and wildlife everywhere and Ludger was more than happy to stand on the deck of the ship as the land slid by. If he wasn't travelling for such a horrible reason he would probably really enjoy walking throughout the land.

Maybe he could even see where Erston lived.

A stray wave splashed up the side of the ship and caught Ludger on the arm. He hissed as the salt stung his burns and pulled back slightly before being driven to the rail again as more of the land came into view.

"You can just see Leronde in the distance" Leia's voice next to him made him jump. He turned to look at her and saw Alvin hovering nearby as well.

Elize and Teepo were most likely sleeping below deck, where he should be if he was honest with himself, but he couldn't shake the tension thrumming through his body. If he was honest he hadn't really slept since Duval, not that he was going to tell Leia or Elize that. They had left Marksberg three days ago and Ludger had been reassured each day that today they would reach Leronde.

Finally.

The three of them stayed on deck as the small town slowly crept into view. It was picturesque to say the least, he could easily see the mild mannered Jude growing up here and learning how to help people. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Leia furiously wipe at her eyes before disappearing below deck muttering something about waking Elize. "She never expected to come here without Jude" Alvin supplied, filling the silence. "They have been together ever since they were kids, even when we went traipsing across Rieze Maxia to save the world she refused to be left behind. Not even a gunshot wound would stop her. She would always be by Jude's side keeping him safe, it must be killing her knowing she can't help him."

A gunshot wound? How did she get one of them in Rieze Maxia, he didn't know much about the land but he did know they didn't use guns. Ludger's eyes strayed to Alvin's pistol at his side but didn't comment, if there was a story then this wasn't the time for it.

"There is no sign of any other ships, we should be here first." Alvin mused to himself. "Any ship to the island has to go to the Seahaven as the back of the island consists of mountains and mines. It should be easy to set a lookout for them." Leia and a bleary eyed Elize joined them on deck an uncharacteristically quiet Teepo in Elize's arms. Ludger shot a quick look at Leia, he face was still slightly blotchy but she looked determined.

"Right here is the plan" Alvin announced. "Elize as soon as you see Jude you need to link with him and use Teepo drain to build his health and mana back up. I will link with Leia and use shots to keep Scott distracted while Leia closes in. Ludger you need to use that distraction as a chance to get Jude out of there, keep an eye out for Marcus as well. I doubt Scott left him behind."

"What if Jude can't walk?" Leia broke in. "From the pain Ludger was in the other night there is a good chance that he might not be able to use his legs."

Alvin mused for a second. "Okay, Ludger you and I will link while Leia goes for Jude, she might be able to heal him enough to help him walk on his own."

"What if Jude isn't awake? What if the bad man hurt him too much?" Teepo interrupted.

"Scott will make sure Jude is awake." Alvin said darkly, "This is a show to hurt both Jude and Derrick, he will make sure that Jude is aware of it."

"What if..." Leia began.

"No! "Alvin snapped before calming himself. "We will follow the plan, we can't plan for every situation so we will just need to adapt. Our main focus is to get Jude away from Scott." Leia glared at him for interrupting her but didn't argue again. Elize looked between the two nervously while Ludger looked aside. This argument had been going on for a few days and the stress of the situation was catching up to everyone. They needed Jude back before the group broke down any further.

Ludger glanced over the side of the ship as it slowed to dock and out over the quiet town.

He just prayed they had got there first.

XXX xxx XXX

"Well?" Scott demanded.

"No sign of them, I didn't see the silver haired brat or Alvin get off the ship." Marcus replied, stone faced as usual. He was sulking about something but Scott didn't really care. Marcus had been whining about the demon's friends knowing where they were but Scott dismissed him. There was no way for them to know where he had gone, Braht were gone, destroyed, by his hand. Now they were in an entirely different world. There was no way the group that he had seen in the square would come here. Nevertheless Scott had let Marcus check the passenger ship as it came into Leronde before returning to their hiding place in the boarded up inn at the seahaven, their ship having dropped them off the night before.

Scott felt a small amount of satisfaction, everything was going perfectly. With any luck they would be able to grab the traitor and his mate and get them all to bow down before him. Especially that traitorous Alfred. Exodus was his now, he had pulled it from the ruins Gilland's death had left it in and it was he who would take it to the next level and become a major power in Elympios.

He, Scott, would have both worlds cower at his feet.

Starting with the man who had abandoned him, he would break him just like he broke his son. That would teach him to give up his responsibilities and the children who had depended on him as a father figure. How dare he leave his own people to have a kid with the enemy. A kid that was now shaking at his feet broken in body and no doubt soon to be broken in mind.

After all it was all the demon's fault, maybe if he killed him in front of Dr Mathis he would see that Scott was more suited to be his child and would stay with him.

But what if he didn't.

Why wouldn't he?

Scott was much better than the demon wasn't he?

Scott kicked absent-mindedly at the body at his feet and got a small whimper in response. Scott smiled in satisfaction and continued his thoughts.

XXX xxx XXX

Marcus looked in disgust at Scott. Taking the boy to see his father had never been part of the original plan. They were supposed to get the boy to build them a spyrite and if he refused then publicly torture and execute him as a warning to the scientists up in Helioborg so they would give them what they wanted instead.

Win-win.

If Alvin stuck his nose in and Marcus got to kill him so much the better.

Instead as soon as Scott had Jude in his hands he changed. He had toyed with the boy, not even asking him for information, just hurting him for the sake of it. And even worse as Marcus went to go distract Alvin long enough for his goons to get the reporter, Scott decided to blow up the Braht headquarters. Scott had gloated on the way over about how he had killed the leader of the Braht and destroyed them.

He was delusional.

Aside from killing most of the remainder of Exodus along with the Braht they had been hold up with there was one other major factor.

The Voice had not been the leader of the Braht.

Secretly Marcus had a suspicion that Robin had been more than he appeared to be. If Robin escaped the blast then he would know who had attacked the base and where they were going. There was no way Braht let Exodus see their main base, no doubt that had been an outpost. This wasn't a ragtag group like Exodus. Braht were the Judge, Jury and Executioner of Duval, you don't get that much power from one small house of fifty people.

No, Braht was still out there.

Exodus was finished.

He wasn't too fussed about Scott being caught anymore but he had a very keen sense of self-preservation. He needed some sort of leverage if he was going to get out of this alive, once Alvin saw the state of the kid there was no chance of being able to walk away safely.

No.

Let Scott drag the boy before Derrick, then he would kill Scott and hand over the hostages in return for his life and freedom, then he would go and hide in a corner of Rieze Maxia for the rest of his life, far away from where Braht could find him.

Not the most ideal of plans but it would have to do.

XXX xxx XXX

Jude had a fever.

There was no doubt in his mind, something, somewhere had got infected. It was a miracle he hadn't succumbed before now.

Or maybe he did and he was only just realising it.

Who knew?

The point was he knew it now.

He was shivering while feeling like he was on fire. His vision was blurry and it was a struggle not to pass out every time Scott made him move. He was lucky his throat hadn't completely swollen shut, as it was every breath was a struggle and he was feeling light-headed.

If he was honest Jude just wanted this to be over, one way or another.

Ludger was probably dead because of him and he doubted anyone would find him here. He should just curl up and die in the corner before anyone else got hurt because of him.

'How did it end up like this?' He thought to himself, and agonisingly gulped back a sob.

His fever addled mind showed him memories of the last time he had thought that. When he was sitting on a bed in Hamil with Alvin pointing a gun at his head.

When Leia had got shot protecting him. Yet another time when a friend had been hurt trying to save him.

Like the first time Milla had left his side, dying to save his pathetic life. 'Milla, I wish you were here with me. I wish I could have seen you, one last time.'

"Typical kid, How can you be so eager to just roll over a give up?" Jude flinched and looked around in a daze, he could almost hear Alvin's voice. But no, it was the fever whispering to him. Still, it gave him heart. He mustn't give up, there would be a way to fight back. Alvin wouldn't just let him die here and Jude had to do everything he could to be ready when the time to fight came.

'It's not a matter of if you can or can't, it's whether you do or don't.' Jude's own words came back to him.

Jude twisted his bruised face into a smirk.

He can, and he will.

XXX xxx XXX

Dr Derrick Mathis was just checking in on the patient he had kept in overnight when there was a knock at the door. He glanced up irritably before carrying on with his check up. The patient had fallen off a ladder and had jarred his back, a concussion was also possible so Derrick and Ellen had been taking turns to wake him up every hour. Needless to say he was now very tired and grouchy but the patient wasn't showing any signs of concussion and could now be left to sleep.

The knock sounded again, more forceful this time. Derrick swore under his breath, they were going to wake Ellen if they weren't careful. It couldn't be anyone from the town, they would know the door was never locked in case of emergency.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" he muttered to himself as he made his way over. "This better be impor..." he grouched as he opened the door, his voice failed him as he took in the group standing in front of him.


	11. Chapter 11

Ludger didn't know what he was expecting when he eventually saw Jude's father but somehow he felt disappointed. He looked like a regular sized grouchy man who had just been woken up, not quite the legendary doctor he had heard about from his brother. His sandy hair and stern countenance was nothing like Jude's friendly openness, but glancing up he saw the bright amber eyes peering out through the glasses and relaxed. Despite being narrowed in suspicion and annoyance they were the same rare, golden hue as Jude's and despite the gruff exterior he saw the same warmness in them.

This was a man who dedicated his life to helping others.

"Derrick" Alvin's voice broke the silence. "It's about Jude. We need to talk."

"Do we indeed? Where is my son Alfred? What mess has he gotten himself into now?"

Leia glanced nervously down the street. "Please can we talk inside Dr Mathis, it's not safe out here."

Ludger watched Derrick Mathis' eyes dart around the group before settling back on Alvin. "Very well come on in."

Ludger, Elle, Leia and Elise followed the Doctor into his office while Alvin gave a quick glance back down the street before shutting the door and joining them.

A shy Elle sought refuge behind Ludger while he allowed his attention to drift and idly looked at the room Derrick had bought them into while Alvin brought the doctor up to speed on what was going on. The room was sparse and was clearly a place of work, there were no pictures or anything that looked homely in the room. There was nothing to indicate that Jude had even ever lived here.

"Ludger" he focused back on the conversation and the sound of his name. Derrick moved over to stand in front of him. Elle took the opportunity to move to a new hiding spot behind Elize. "I heard you have been injured, will you permit me to take a look?" Ludger looked up into those amber eyes and found himself nodding without really thinking about it. Gently Derrick took one of his arms and looked at the red marks and the occasional blister that was still remaining on the tender skin. "This is healing well, make sure to keep it uncovered" He held out his hands for the other arm and pronounced that as healing well as well. "Take off your shirt, I doubt the fire was kind enough to only attack your arms." Ludger glanced awkwardly at Leia, Elle and Elize before flushing and slowly removing the loose blue shirt he had been bought to replace his burnt outfit.

Ludger tried to keep his embarrassment from showing on his face as Derrick bent down to examine his chest and stomach. He was curious as to why the doctor was so insistent on checking the area, he hadn't had any pain from there. When he had finally woken up it was his arms that had felt like they had been through an oven.

"Leia, report."

Leia glanced up briefly at Ludger before looking only at Derrick. "Ludger was caught by the explosion, his arms and face were burnt moderately by the heatwave but his clothes caught fire. Severe burns covered most of his torso and the material started to..." She hesitated, glancing back at Elle before looking resolutely forward "...melt into his skin. His trousers fortunately had some heat resistance and limited the damage to his legs."

Ludger went white. He glanced back down at his chest to see if it was still there and raised a hand to his face. She definitely said his face had been burned but he felt none of the stinging that plagued his arms. He wasn't especially vain but the thought of a scarred face still disturbed him. "Elize was on site, she will be able to give you a more detailed report of what damage she had healed before he got to me. I focused on getting the material from his skin before healing the area a small section at a time. As there was a high risk of infection I had to use pin-point healing for each affected area, as such I ran out of power before reaching his arms. I have been healing them slowly during the past couple of days while keeping them uncovered and they are healing well.

Derrick nodded to himself then looked over at Elize, dismissing Leia from his attentions without even a well done or a thank you. "Elize was it? What did you heal on site?"

Elize looked shocked at being addressed but recovered quickly and responded in a shy voice. "He was going into shock so I stopped it and kept him breathing, I stopped the skin from burning to a point where it went black."

"We don't know a lot about medicine so we just tried to keep him alive" Teepo butted in, floating over to Derrick slightly before retreating back to Elize's arms at the doctors cold stare.

"Ludger is healing but your son is still missing" Alvin butt in, Ludger had seen the tension rising in him over the past few minutes and wondered when he would snap. Ludger had felt the same but had been intimidated by the amount of people looking at his body and the revelation of just how badly he had been injured.

"Until he is here in front of me he is not my patient." Derrick responded stoically.

Alvin rose to his feet and grabbed Derrick by the collar, moving too quickly for any of them to respond.

"He is being taken here because Scott wants to hurt YOU. He may not be your patient right now but he is ALWAYS your son."

Derrick's expression didn't change at Alvin raged in his face and after a few tense seconds Alvin released him again. Ludger took the opportunity to re-button his shirt. Elize was looking between the two men, concerned while Leia looked on without really paying attention. Ludger was worried about her, she had been working ceaselessly since the explosion a few days ago and he wasn't sure if she was sleeping at all.

There was an awkward silence in the room which was disrupted by the sound of the clinic door banging open and the sound of hurried footsteps.

Alvin readied his gun as the door to the office shot open to reveal a panicked villager, breathing heavily. He blanched when he saw Alvin's weapon but looked past it to see the doctor.

"Dr Mathis! At the Seahaven! There are a couple of Elympions there! They have Jude!"

XXX xxx XXX

Jude felt humiliated and his previous determination was ebbing away with every set of pitying eyes that looked upon him.

Scott had dragged him from the ruined inn until they stood in the centre of the Seahaven. Jude had seen a couple of people run off through his one working eye, the other too swollen to see through.

No doubt they had gone to either hide in their homes or tell his father. Others just stood staring, either too scared or too curious to move.

He was horrified to be displayed like this, his broken left leg, still its pathetic splint was splayed out behind him while he rested on his other leg and bruised hip. His right hand supported his weight while the other was resting, palm up on his broken leg, the shattered fingers long beyond be being able to move.

His back was wet from blood where the cuts split every time he moved, he could feel heat radiating from it as infection sunk its claws in.

Scott hadn't bothered binding his hands, instead he had made a rough slipknot from rope and had fastened it around Jude's neck, he held the other end firmly in his hand and Jude had been forced to crawl along to avoid choking himself.

The fever was making the world spin and time was slipping by at an unnatural rate. Jude was happy he wasn't being forced to stand, he knew he would pass out before he took a single step.

Now, how to escape?

His resolution not to give up seemed so childish now. Either Scott was going to kill Jude in front of his dad or he was going to kill his dad in front of Jude.

Neither sounded good.

Jude had slowly nurtured a small amount of power and he was sure he would be able to cast Healer at least twice. It wouldn't heal him completely but would get him able to hobble away without passing out due to his infection.

All he needed was a distraction.

Soon.

Before his father came.

"JUDE!"

That sounded like Alvin, he glanced up through his one good eye and saw Alvin and Leia running towards him, glancing further back he saw his father with Elize and, was that Ludger?

No, it must be the fever.

Ludger was dead.

Killed because of him.

Left to burn back in Duval.

Jude focused back on Alvin and realised was only a few feet away, when did that happen, he had been at the entrance to the Seahaven only a second ago.

Jude must be sicker than he realised.

Which meant Ludger was definitely not here.

His mind was going in circles.

He heard shouting around him and forced himself to pay attention to what was going on.

It was surprisingly difficult.

Someone was at his side, gripping his good arm and holding him while another gripped his hair, making him face the group in front of him.

A stench of sweat and blood.

Marcus.

_Jude_

He felt something grasping at his mind, like tickling along the edges of it but he brushed it aside.

_Jude_

It whispered again.

Was that word important to him? It felt like it should mean something to him.

_Jude, please answer me_

Was that his name?

Yes it was, it was his name.

But who was calling to him.

The voice sounded soft, feminine.

It reminded him of the colour yellow.

And of flowers.

Leia

_Leia?_

_Jude! Jude, Link with me!_

_Leia, help me._

_I will, I will Jude just Link with me._

Link? What did she mean by Link, couldn't she just help him.

Everything was spinning again, he was going to pass out.

No!

His friends were here.

This was his chance to fight.

Now.

Before he got any weaker or more delirious.

"Healer" it came out a croak but it worked.

Jude blinked as the world became clearer to him.

Then gasped as his sense of pain returned and shot through his haze.

His collar grew tighter as Scott tugged on it.

Desperate he gathered his power again.

"HEALER"

The last of the haze faded away.

Leia was next to him, fighting hand to hand with Marcus.

Alvin the other side in a desperate grapple with Scott for Jude's leash.

Scott gave a desperate pull and Jude felt the rope cut into his neck as his circulation was cut off.

Air.

He needed air.

Silver flashed in front of him and the tension was released on his neck.

Heaving for breath Jude sagged forward and was caught by a pair of arms.

Arms covered in little scars and mostly healed blisters.

Gasping Jude looked up at his rescuer and saw a mop of silver hair with a distinguishing black streak.

Ludger.

He felt a Link trying to reach him and accepted it expecting to feel Ludger's quiet presence in his mind. Instead he felt Elize's shy cheerfulness.

_Sharing is caring!_

Jude felt a smile on his face at her familiar battle cry.

Ludger slowly lifted him up and helped Jude to regain his balance before slowly limping away.

It was agonising.

Jude got far enough to see Elize's concerned bright green eyes and his fathers amber ones before the pain caught up to him and he collapsed on top of Ludger.

XXX xxx XXX

Alvin felt sick.

Jude was a mess, half his face was covered in dried blood and one of his eyes was swollen shut. The other had a glassy sheen to it and he was shivering constantly.

He had a fever, and looking at the way Jude was resting all his weight on one side, Alvin could guess at why.

"Alfred, I must admit I'm surprised to see you here." Scott casually held a rope leading to Jude's neck in his hand and Alvin hurt inside to see his friend so helpless.

Marcus sauntered round to Jude's other side and grabbed him by the hair and arm, forcing his bruised face towards his friends. Alvin was no doctor but even he could see the unhealthy colour of Jude's skin and the thin layer of sweat over his face. As Jude's body twisted Alvin could also see the blood stains on his side and his anger grew.

He glanced at Leia who should have been trying to link with Jude, she shook her head sadly. They hadn't accounted to Jude being this sick. Injured yes, but not sick.

_Leia, Link. We must get them away from Jude._

Alvin reached Scott just after Jude suddenly cast Healer on himself. His fist striking Scott's face as he looked to one side to see why Jude was shouting. Alvin saw Scott pulling on Jude's lead and desperately fought with him to get it out of his hand.

Then Ludger was there, blades quickly slicing through the rope and pulling Jude to his feet, well foot.

After that Alvin lost himself in the fight, losing even his link with Leia as he let his rage consume him. He didn't even feel the hits Scott got on him in return, he wanted nothing more then to just smash his face into oblivion for what he had done.

For who he had hurt.

For

Everything

He

Had

Done

To

Jude

"Alvin!"

Leia's scream broke the air.

It was full of pain and fear and was enough to break him out of his rage.

He looked up to see Leia's face streaming with tears and Marcus' face over her shoulder. Grinning as he twisted her arm behind her back with his other around her neck.

Everything froze and silence fell across the Seahaven.

Alvin slowly rose from where he was kneeling over Scott, taking a second to glance at where Jude had gone as he went. He was relieved to see him at the other end of the Seahaven with Derrick, Elize and Ludger surrounding him, although it appeared he had passed out.

His knuckles were stinging, he looked down and saw them covered in blood and scrapes, his gaze went briefly to Scott and he looked away quickly feeling sick.

He focussed his attention back on Marcus, on Leia, shaking in his arms.

Not in fear, she was too strong for that. It was most likely exhaustion.

In the bright sunshine of Leronde he could see the dark shadows on her face, the glassiness of her eyes.

You could almost forget how young she really was.

Her and Jude both acted with such confidence and drive that they seemed so much older than their years. It made him forget there were over ten years between them. It made him love her all the more. Her and Jude gave him a family when he thought he had lost any connection to anyone who could possibly care for him. Jude, Leia, Rowen, Elize even Milla, they had all become his new family and he would not see them harmed.

Seeing the fire in Alvin's eyes Marcus tightened his grip until Leia winced.

"Now Alfred, I think we can come to some sort of understanding here." Marcus' voice was calm as he sheltered himself from Alvin's wrath behind Leia. "This whole business was not my idea, I had no intention to drag Jude here to be made a show of in front of his father. That was Scott."

"You mean to tell me that Jude was overpowered and tortured by Scott alone? That you had no part in it Marcus? Is it Scott that is holding Leia hostage now?" Alvin's voice rose with every demand before dropping to a threatening growl. "Do you honestly expect me to just let you go?"

Marcus' grip tightened and Leia gasped in pain.

"Leia!" Alvin looked over to the source of the call and saw Leia's parents at the entrance to the Seahaven. Marcus was caught between the two groups now. Cautiously he turned, dragging Leia with him so he could see both parties and backed towards the edge of the dock. As he went, his grip on Leia's neck loosened and she took her chance. With a quick twist she swung round and punched Marcus straight in the face with her free hand. This was followed by a second hit when Marcus released her arm in shock. A follow up knee to the groin left him overbalanced and splashing into the sea.

Alvin readied his pistol and aimed it at Marcus as he frantically tried to get himself out of the water.

"No!" Leia called.

"But he..." Alvin protested.

"I know what he has done. But I won't watch you kill him."

"But..."

"No. I won't watch you murder him" Alvin met her measured gaze before looking down in frustration. "We will hand them over to Gaius to judge their punishment. Both of them."

Alvin glanced down at the bloodied Scott who was immobile at his feet.

Then back up just in time to see Ludger and Derrick carry an unconscious Jude from the Seahaven up to the doctors clinic where Ellen and Elle should have prepared a room for him. Leia's father following behind in case they needed any extra strength.

Leia's mother stayed with her daughter and helped Marcus out of the water only to restrain him in a firm hold he had no chance of breaking out of.

Alvin looked down again at his bloody fist before taking a deep calming breath and bending down to check if Scott was still alive.


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, It really shouldn't have taken me so long to repost this.  
> Please enjoy the conclusion to this story, unfortunately it's a short one as I'm much better at hurt than comfort.

Everything hurt.

Breathing.

The twitch of his abused muscles.

The hand wrapped in his own.

Everything.

The escape of oblivion was his friend and he embraced it often.

He screamed when his leg was moved.

Or at least he tried, he didn't know if any sound actually made its way through his torn throat.

Blackness took him again and he welcomed it.

He didn't know how much time passed before he stirred again.

It could have been minutes or hours, and frankly he didn't care.

He longed for the darkness to take him again.

Everything hurt.

The darkness didn't come.

He sighed.

It didn't hurt.

It took a minute for that to register.

He took another breath and marvelled at how it didn't tear his throat as it passed.

"...de? Ju..."

What was that noise?

It was something else that didn't hurt.

Did that make it a good thing?

"Dr... ink... Waki... up."

It didn't hurt but that didn't mean it made any sense.

There was pressure on his hand, it increased as the noise continued.

That didn't hurt either.

He no longer wanted the blackness of oblivion, he wanted to know what else didn't hurt.

He wanted to know if there was something besides pain and darkness.

It came for him anyway.

XXX

When he emerged again he was ...happy? No that wasn't the right word.

He gave up searching for one, it would come to him in time.

He felt his hand twitch, a spasm of muscles.

"Jude?"

The noise was back again.

It seemed clearer this time.

"Jude can you hear me?"

Jude, was that his name.

It did sound familiar.

He twitched his hand again.

The one folded in comforting warmness.

The warmness left him suddenly.

"Dr Mathis!"

The shout hurt his ears, but it was a familiar pain.

Not at all like the pain he had felt before.

The pain he could still feel if he paid attention to it.

He heard footsteps, calm and measured.

A hand rested by the side of his face.

It was warm and calloused.

Something opened his eyes and he flinched slightly as a light was shone in them.

"Jude."

The voice was familiar too. He had a feeling he had known that voice all his life.

It made him feel warm.

He wanted to see who that voice belonged to.

He opened his eyes.

The light hurt, but it was a good pain.

There as a face above him, it had more lines then he remembered.

There was stubble on his chin.

There were dark shadows around the eyes that could be seen through the glasses.

"Dad,"

He didn't know he had spoken until he heard his own voice.

"Dad," his eyes stung and he felt warm tear dripping down his face.

XXX

Dr Derrick Mathis held his son as he wept, tears of his own stinging his eyes.

He glanced at Leia and she excused herself from the room, her own face wet and relief coursed through her.

She closed the door behind her then collapsed to her knees in the hallway.

She heard footsteps running towards her, drawn by the sound. Alvin and Ludger were there, eyes wide in fear. She saw Elle peeking out from behind Ludger's leg.

"He woke up" she choked out and started laughing. "HE WOKE UP!" she shouted for the world to hear. Alvin dropped down beside and held her close as her laughter turned into sobs.

XXX

Ludger watched them for a moment before walking back towards where Elize, Teepo and Jude's mother were resting having been up all night by Jude's bedside.

He knocked gently on their bedroom door before opening, Elle hovering just behind him.

"What is it Ludger?" Ellen asked as she half rose out of bed, eyes alert for an emergency.

"Jude woke up."

That simple sentence had her out of bed and running towards the door, he saw she had gone to bed wearing the clothes from the previous night.

Elize didn't stir despite the noise, she must be exhausted, he supposed she had been using her artes to keep Jude alive ever since he had brought back to the clinic six days ago.

He perched on the side of her bed, as much as he wanted to let her sleep he knew she would be furious with him if he didn't tell her as soon as Jude woke up.

He was alive thanks to her after all.

Ludger didn't want to think about how close it had been.

Jude had been in a coma for the past four days, people had started to give up hope that he would ever wake up.

They thought they would get him back from Scott and Marcus only for him to die in front of them anyway.

He reached his arm over to shake her shoulder and followed behind her as she raced out of the room. Elle followed him, she had refused to leave his side since they had got Jude back. She seemed to know how close she had been to loosing Ludger too. The group had quietly entered the room to find Alvin, Leia and Jude's parents sitting around Jude's bedside but the amber eyed boy had already gone back to sleep.

But this time it was sleep, Ludger could see the steady rise and fall of his chest and his face looked relaxed.

He could see the relief in the people surrounding the boy. He had a long way to go but it looked like the worst was behind them.

XXX xxx XXX

It had been two weeks since Jude had first woken up and he was finally allowed to leave his bed.

He was going to be using a wheelchair but it was certainly a step in the right direction as far as he was concerned.

Ludger was there to help him, the doctor in Jude knew his muscles would be weak despite the care his father put into not letting them atrophy but the bullheaded teenager in him didn't want help from the older boy. Jude pulled the covers back and looked at his leg. The bandages and splint started at his ankle and stopped halfway up his thigh. He knew there was a scar on his shin from where his bone had gone through his skin but it was thankfully covered. He was told not to put any weight on it though while the bone continued to heal. The same went for his hand which was splinted up and in a sling around his neck so he didn't try to use it, as it was it would probably never be as strong as his right hand.

All in all Jude felt completely useless with the whole of his left side out of commission.

Begrudgingly Jude accepted Ludger's hand, noting the scars covering them before they disappeared up his long sleeved shirt, and used it to balance as he pivoted off of the bed and into the chair. He settled with a sigh, feeling the scars on his back stretch with the movement. He knew that most of the damage had been healed without a trace but three of his cuts had been infected and he would bear the marks for the rest of his life.

Ludger stood behind Jude's chair and started to push it so Jude could have his first glimpse on the sun in over three weeks.

Jude knew he had been scarred both physically and mentally by this battle.

But he was alive.

And that was a good start on the road to recovery.

XXX xxx XXX

Rowen looked at the cell in disgust, blood was splattered across the walls and was slowly dripping into the drain in the corner.

Against his and Gaius' protests Scott and Marcus had been taken to Trigleph for trial as citizens of Elympios. Gaius has wanted them to face his justice in Rieze Maxia for crimes against one of his subjects but he had had to come to a diplomatic solution. He would sit in on the trial as a second judge but the trial had to take place in Elympios.

The point was moot now.

Rowen had suspected what would happen as soon as he bought the two back to their native country and he had been unable to stop it.

Scott and Marcus' mangled corpses were in their respective cells, neither had survived long enough to face court justice for what they had done to Jude, instead they had faced justice at the hands of the Braht for the their crimes against them in Duval.

There was a note on the floor and Rowen stooped to pick it up.

"You were right

You are not the monsters we thought you were.

But maybe we are."

There was no signature but he didn't need one, he remembered all too well the conversation between Gaius and the brightly dressed merchant who had told them where Scott had taken Jude.

He supposed he could call it even in a way.

Not that Gaius would agree.

With a sigh Rowen pocketed the note and went to tell his king that his prisoners had already been executed.

Maybe after they would go to Leronde and see how young Jude was getting on.

It would be good to see friends.

With a smile on his face Rowen left the gore filled room, nodding at the now redundant guard and let the door slam shut behind him.


End file.
